Here in the Darkness
by Nightbird37
Summary: What if Anakin's best friend wasn't Obi-wan? Will she save him or will he drag her down into the darkness when a new Jedi threat emerges? AU, set three years after the events of RotS.
1. Prologue

**Story Title: **Here in the Darkness

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Star Wars, just putting my own twist on it.

**Summary: **What if Anakin's best friend wasn't Obi-wan? Will she save him or will he drag her down into the darkness when a new Jedi threat emerges? AU, set three years after the events of RotS.

**Author Notes: **Thanks for reading, any feedback would be appreciated

* * *

**Prologue**

A gleaming white Star Destroyer hurtled through hyperspace towards a distant planet. It was time for the sleep cycle and only a skeleton crew moved around on the ghostly ship. Behind a locked steel door sat a large, ebony sphere. Inside, the Dark Lord dreamed. He dreamed of a child, of a small hand grasping his own. He dreamed of secrets in the night and a trusting smile. He dreamed of bright blue eyes and long dark hair. He dreamed of the hand slipping from his own, she was falling, falling down into the abyss screaming "Anakin!"

He awoke with a start, the scream echoing in his head over and over. He put his head into his gloved hands and tried to wash away the memories. _That is not my life_; he thought angrily,_ those are Anakin's memories, not mine. She's dead, she must be. _The girl had been a part of Anakin's life once; once they had shared a bond that transcended thought, she had been as essential to him as breathing. She was gone though, cast out into the galaxy just after the outbreak of the Clone Wars. _No! _He tried to stop his train of thought, but it was too late now, there she was, her bright, trusting face as vivid as ever in his mind. The dream replayed itself, becoming foggier as he fully awoke, but the scream remained.

Then he felt it, a rush of thought that was not his own, like it used to be, pain and agony raced through his mind and he nearly doubled over with the unexpected rush, for a moment he was not himself, images from a darkened room , he felt cold floor, saw a needle, felt a cold blaster against his temple. With alarming speed the room was gone, and he was himself once more. Confused emotions ran through him. She was alive, alive and hurting and he would find her if it was the last thing that he did.

* * *

On a far off world in the distant Outer Rim, she awoke. The horror of her reality made itself known in the cold floor and the even colder durasteel that held her to a wall. With the care of long practice, she rearranged herself without jarring the chains that lay heavy around her neck, wrists and ankles. However, comfort was a futile prospect; the permacrete on which she lay was as unyielding as ever. She closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of breathing from her fellow dancers, trying to escape once more into the realm of dreams. Suddenly a faint beeping rang clear in the silent night, her whole body tensed, she could feel the effects of the drug wearing off even as a person groaned and shuffled towards her. The drunken idiot nearly tripped over her, and her resulting yelp earned her a smack across the cheek to add to her impressive collection of scrapes, cuts and bruises. Around her, the others moved in their sleep, disturbed by the noise, chains rattling loudly in the stillness.

She felt the familiar pressure of a cool blaster against her head and waited for the all too familiar jab of a needle inexpertly stabbed into her arm, the serum would get into her body one way or another, and she would remain trapped and powerless. However this time was different, a rush of the Force greeted her like a crashing wave, and just for a moment, a single solitary moment she felt her mind open up and she was greeted by a swell of foreign emotions that she welcomed. It was like basking in the sun after years of darkness, it was like dying of thirst and being given a drop of water, but then the needle punctured her skin, the serum rushed through her veins and it was gone. She was once more alone in her mind. That alone was more agony than all the tortures that had been inflicted on her, to be given a slim hope and to have it torn away. For the first time in five years she had been whole and it was gone. She nearly throttled the man, but the chains wouldn't reach that far, years of trying had proved that much. With a tear filled sigh, she curled back up on the floor fighting back the angry tears that threatened to overwhelm her. The room was silent as a crypt but for the sounds of the guard shuffling back to his bed, muttering curses under his breath. She could still feel the exhilaration of her power, but no matter how strongly she believed, it was gone, with that though, the tears escaped, falling silently down her cheeks as her body was racked with sobs she dare not vocalize. Despair filled her, she was alone in the universe, there was no one left who could save her now.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

With a rush the blue tunnel of Hyperspace resolved into a billion stars as the Star Destroyer dropped out of Hyperspace and the galaxy realigned around the massive ship. Vader stood on the bridge, anger radiating off him in almost palpable waves. His black armor seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it making the suit look even darker than it was. His sleep had been ruined by the dream and every idiot in the Empire seemed to be on his ship. It was enough to make anyone lose his temper. In actuality however, the Dark Lord was feeling slightly hopeful, he had spent the remainder of his night hacking the Jedi Achieves for any information on where they had sent her after her exile from the temple five years ago. He had gotten results after several hours of searching.

He would have gone to find her right away, but he had a job to do first. It would be a grievous mistake to allow the Emperor any sliver of knowledge about what he was planning. There was no way that he could overthrow the Emperor in this accused black cage, at least not alone. Hence, the façade of anger which had become all too real as the lack of sleep began to catch up with him. Vader spun around just as they cut the sublight engines, signifying that it was time to go down to the planet "Commander, prepare my shuttle." Vader spat, not even looking at the man as he stalked past, cape billowing.

The world they were orbiting was a nondescript grey rock with only one muddy brown ocean. There was nothing of note on the planet, except the reports that a Jedi had chosen the barren rock as a hiding place. As if there was anywhere they could hide where he would not find them. He had hoped that it might be Obi-Wan, but this man was older that his former mentor, it didn't matter he would die just the same. The shuttle moved swiftly down to the surface and he marched out with a squad of stormtroopers, natives practically running from the sight of him. It was good that they had proper fear; sometimes the Jedi would rally the people against him. It made his job longer when he had to decimate an entire city. He let the force surge through him and around him, looking for a distortion that would suggest a Jedi.

Vader walked forwards as people locked their doors and closed the blinds as if by those small acts they could protect themselves from his wrath. An old man wandered too close to his path and Vader stabbed him through the heart, red Lightsaber humming. There was nothing that made a Jedi come faster than the slaughter of innocents. They were all too predictable. Behind him a woman screamed as the body of the old man fell to the dusty ground. Her anger and fear fed into his own power and he expanded his force awareness in his search for the Jedi.

There it was an absence of the Force; someone was shielding themselves, poorly. This was not going to be a challenge. Vader went quickly to the source of the hole in the force that was blatantly visible to anyone with the slightest hint of Force-sensitivity. This elder was plainly weak in the force. Vader had hoped for something of a challenge, but beggars can't be choosers. The man lived in a small house with mud walls and a thatched roof, it was pathetic. Vader ducked through the door and stood face to face with a tall man with a few remains of wispy white hair.

Vader activated his Lightsaber the red hue lighting up the tiny hovel along with the green of the old Jedi's Lightsaber. Vader moved first launching himself at the older man with furious intensity; however, Vader had underestimated the old man, who moved quickly, parrying the saber with ease. The man had tricked him, Vader realized, but he had learned from his mistake and began a fierce offensive than made the man leap left and right dance away from the crimson blade, Vader snarled as the man evaded him, blocking his attack with ease and darting away.

They fought inside the tiny house for some time, until Vader was fed up of ducking all the time as he tried not to hit his helmet on the beams he blew the walls apart with the Force shoved the roof off to the side. It was something of a relief to stand straight and tall once more. The Jedi was startled by the loss of his home and Vader took the opportunity to stab the man, the elder collapsed to the ground, but before he expired, the Jedi shouted "You cannot win this; you will soon face your destiny."

"As you have met yours," Vader countered with a snarl.

****The man responded in a voice that was not his own, that sounded like a thousand voices all at once. "We are coming. We are rising and you will fall..." Vader sliced the man's head off.

He was disturbed, nothing like that had ever happened to him before. Trying to mask the sudden fear that had grasped him, he recalled the troops that he had sent around the city to scout for the Jedi and put down any offenders. What does it mean? Vader's thoughts were running away with him again. Who is rising? The Jedi, they cannot hope to stand against me. However the seeds of doubt had been sowed in his mind. What if the Jedi were massing, would he be able to stop hundreds of them? Would he be able to stop even fifty of them? Vader moved with huge strides back to the shuttle, dark thoughts clustering around him like a storm cloud. He tried to be content he tried to be whole, to be proud of what he had achieved, but there was nothing but a gaping hole in his heart where his best friend and his wife used to reside. The mix of emotions was too much to handle. He tried desperately to evict at least Padme from his mind. She was gone, gone for all eternity, the thought alone made him furious and utterly lost.

The Sith lord retaliated at his emotions with anger as the shuttle soared through the atmosphere and back up to the ship. Vader closed his eyes and furiously struggled to relieve himself of the stabbing pain in his heart. He let anger at Obi-wan swell until it banished everything else, the blazing fire of his hatred cleansing his mind.

Once back on the bridge, Vader glowered down at the Commander, "Set a course for Nar Haaska."

"Yes Sir," the commander responds, but Vader is already marching away, cape billowing behind him.

* * *

A single pinprick of light shone down straight onto her face, she awoke and stood, body stiff from a night on permacrete, just like last night, and the night before, and for the last three years. Before that it had been durasteel, but there hadn't been much sleeping then. Her wounded mind blocked any more thoughts of those two painful years before she was sold to Gorga the Hutt after the end of the Clone Wars. A Gamorrean Guard undid the chains around her arms and legs, and she rubbed her wrists which were red and scraped from the chafing of the bonds. Some bread was stuffed into her hands and she ate it hungrily, for there wouldn't be any more food until her dancing proved pleasing to the Hutt and his courtiers.

Gorga's main audience chamber was dark and imposing. Vaulted ceilings and close walls gave the room the feeling of a coffin. Everything was black, black cushions and chairs and tiled floor. Black shimmersilk banners hung from the ceiling emblazoned with the Hutt's silver crest on them. The room itself was a tiered triangle. The space for the Hutt's repulsor sled was at on tip, and she stood in the middle, down from the tiered levels toward above her, not unlike one of the amphitheaters of old. These levels were already covered in a myriad of beings that had come to seek the Hutt's pleasure that day. The band was settled against one wall and had just begun to warm up; the sounds of tuning instruments and muttering beings filled the chamber. The room was totally dark except for the ominous blue glow of the data pads, the single light that fell on the place where the Hutt would sit and the very dim bulb that would illuminate her. The cloying odor of Hutt perforated the room, though the corpulent slug was nowhere in sight

All of that was put from her mind however, as the band finished tuning and played the first chords of a slow melody. The chain around her neck was affixed to a ring below where the Hutt would rest and a whip cracked in her direction, she leaped back, but covered the motion with the beginnings of a dance. She had to make it all up on the spot, but she had proved fairly good at that over the years. At first there had been another to teach her, but the lethan Twi'lek was gone now, killed for insolence she thought. As the song sped up, so did she, feet moving in complicated patterns, the crimsons ribbons that extended from her wrists and waist twirled around her in, what she hoped was a mesmerizing swirl. As the final chords of the song rang out, the Hutt entered in time for her to execute a leap high into the air. She landed, and twirling to face Gorga, bowed low.

Somewhat tentative applause sounded in the quiet chamber, the audience unsure whether the Gorga had liked it, and appreciation for the band and the dancer was allowed. Laughing at the terror of those around him, the Hutt clapped his tiny hands together several times, and the applause became much louder, a sense of relief filled her emaciated frame, another good dance. She wasn't sure what would happen if the Gorga was displeased, but she knew that nothing good would come of it. She was lucky she had been a Jedi, Lightsaber fighting and dancing were very similar in the end, it all came down to foot work, and she had had the best teacher in the temple for training.

Her mind flicked back to days of long ago as the band started up a song she had memorized a dance for. Her days at the Jedi temple seemed so far away, like they had happened to a different person, she wasn't sure if she even was that person anymore. The little girl that had loved to smile and laugh was probably gone, she wasn't sure if she would ever truly smile again. But what of her true nature, could that even be changed? She wondered, muscles contorting and expanding as her feet flew across the floor. She knew she had been fierce and wild at times, and also quiet and observant. She wondered if that person had survived the one who had friends and a future. At the thought of friends, she remembered Anakin, and wondered what had become of him.

Anakin had been the one to find her when she was just a baby, they had never told anyone, but they had shared a Force bond ever since that day. She had always known his emotional state without even trying, and if she did try then she could read his thoughts and he, hers from any place in the galaxy. Anakin had been afraid that if they told anyone that they would be separated because it was impossible not to be attached to someone that you understood completely and utterly. He had been everything to her, her mentor, her best friend, and something of a father figure. She had been proud, so proud that the chosen one was her best friend. She had last seen him as she left the temple, exiled and in disgrace, and even then he had stood beside her and wished her good luck. She wondered what he would think of her now. He would probably be ashamed. She was cut off from him now, without the Force she was nothing.

She didn't get much news from the outside world, but what she had heard was that the Republic had fallen and been replaced by an Empire and that something had happened to the Jedi, and something about a Lord Vader, but she was largely isolated from the galaxy. Her curiosity was fading slowly as her mind was overcome with utter boredom, everything about her was fading really, her past, her dreams, even her name was fading from her, and no one had used her name or any title really for far too long. It terrified her she had to remember who she was or she would truly be lost. She closed her eyes and tried to remember, and it came to her.

Arden, she thought I am Arden and one day I will be free. If only she could survive until then.


	3. Chapter 2

The Imperial shuttle descended swiftly towards the planet's surface. Nar Haaska was a rather pretty little world, all bright greens and deep cerulean blues. A pale yellow sun hung in the sky seeming all the brighter on a background of black space. Too bad it might soon be destroyed by the Capital ship that rested in space above the shuttle. They would pay for keeping Arden a prisoner.

Vader was impatient, he wanted to see her. But not just for her sake, for all the power that he held, he was utterly alone. There was no one in whom he could confide, there was no one who wanted to help him, and heck there wasn't even anyone to smile at him. For a man who had been everyone's favorite for a time, this was utter isolation, the worst sort of torture. He had told himself that he didn't need anyone, that he was a Sith lord and that the dark side was the only ally he needed, but his words rang hollow when he remembered what life used to be like in the moments before sleep.

Arden stumbled as she twirled, but no one saw, everyone seemed to have lost their heads with the arrival of the Star Destroyer. Beings of a hundred different species ran to and fro gathering possessions, talking with superiors and generally getting in her way. No one had told her to stop dancing, and the band had continued to play, so she had continued to dance. That was what she was supposed to do. Besides, Gorga seemed to be the only one unmoved by the terror that the Imperial ship had brought. Hunger rumbled in her gut, along with something else. A faint trickle of power, she fought to hide her grin. With all the chaos around her they had forgotten that they still had an enemy in their midst. An enemy who was not as broken as the thought, an enemy whose chains were loosening.

She kept dancing, and the Force continued to return to her like water forcing its way through rock. Arden moved with increasing grace and fluidity as she bided her time the Force unintentionally flowing through her again. She would not miss this chance to escape. It was harder than she had thought; she had conditioned herself to accept orders and to respect these creatures who had imprisoned her. Her mind was not the sanctuary it once had been, it was warped by years of imprisonment. She could feel the pressure of a mind against hers, but she could not reach it just yet.

The shuttle touched down, and before the landing ramp was completely down, Vader was stalking onto the planet's surface, a squad of storm troopers following. The Hutt's palace loomed above them, the tall walls black against the tan of the canyons around it. It was an imposing structure, but it was nothing compared to the Force. He could nearly feel Arden's mind, but it was as though they were separated by a pane of transparisteel. He could 'see' her mind, but he couldn't reach it, yet. With the Force he pulled open the main door to the Hutt's domain and strolled inside, dispatching Gamorreans as he went.

The screams intensified as he came closer and closer to the main chamber where Arden danced. Vader had to stop several times to remove larger groups of both guards and attendants of the Hutt. Of the great gastropod himself, Vader had seen no sign. He probably thought that he was safe from the wrath of the Empire, he had paid off many people, but Vader could not be bought, and the only thing that would stop him right now was the Emperor himself.

The band had finally stopped playing and had rushed to the exit, Arden stopped her dance and waited, the Force was flowing through her now, but still the barrier remained in her mind and she wasn't sure what her true power was without the help of Anakin, for she had never been mentally separate when she had used the Force. There wasn't time however, she was being escorted out and then her chance at killing the Hutt, and even freedom would be gone. She stopped dead in her tracks. _Jedi only kill in self-defense. There is no emotion, there is peace. _These thoughts ran through her brain, engrained by years of instruction. She pushed the thoughts aside, the Jedi had abandoned her, and they had no place in her life.

Arden spun around, and faced her captors, hatred blazing through her. Her hands formed into fists and the guards grasped their throats. She gave a cruel smile as they fell to the ground. She raised her head and looked up at Gorga. For the first time he looked afraid. He knew that he had no control over her now. The power racing through her veins was like nothing she had ever knows, and yet there was a little voice in the back of her head that screamed "_NO, NO, NO!_ _This is the dark side, if you follow this path there is no turning back!"_ Arden ignored it, and let the years of suffering fuel her actions. Lightning flew from her out-stretched fingers, straight at Gorga.

Vader marched into the room as the Hutt began to scream; he saw Arden and gave a half smile behind his mask. She was following her destiny. He took in her long, black hair which needed a good brushing, her skimpy clothing, the chain around her neck and her pathetically skinny form. Despite the years of abuse she still reminded him of the little girl he used to know. She froze suddenly, and her head slowly turned in his direction.

A prickle ran down her spin as she heard deep, struggling breaths. Arden turned her head and saw a nightmare. Black from head to toe, the figure stared at her; he seemed somehow darker than all the furnishings around her. The electricity from her fingers ceased, the Hutt was dead anyway. She was still as ice. Her brain told her to run, run away and never stop. This was a monster, a horror, and he was evil. She would never escape his wrath. But her heart was of a different mind. That part of her wanted to run up to him and hide beside him, where she would never be hurt again. But it was the Force that broke the stillness. With a rush the barrier between their minds was broken and her heart won out as she realized who this figure of night was.

Elation and joy filled both their souls as they were once more reunited; the long years spent apart meant nothing anymore. All the loss and suffering that they had shared paled in comparison to the elation and euphoria that was two shared souls. For a moment there was nothing else in the world. No Empire, no torture, no Jedi, no Sith. There was nothing but each other. In that moment they both knew that there was no power in all the galaxy that could separate them now. This reunion was forever seared in their minds.

Step by step she walked towards him, memories racing through her mind as she remembered that horrible night three years ago, several days before she had been sold. A dark night where she had not been herself; a night where the force suppressant hadn't worked. She remember heat and fire, she remembered burning as painful as if it had happened to her. She remembered loss and a grief that had shaken a world. She had actually woken up with burns the morning after she had experienced the birth of Darth Vader from his eyes. But there was more, a torrent of memories of his life since she had left it. But all of it was inconsequential compared to the fact that he had come. Arden looked up at him in wonder, Anakin was alive and he had rescued her, just like she had hoped in the early days. She couldn't help it, her face cracked into the first real smile in what seemed like forever.

It seemed impossible to Vader that she could know the horrors that he had orchestrated and still smile. It also seemed impossible that she would still be alive after what she had been through. There were horrors in her mind that would never go away. She tried to cover them up, but they had left their mark in other ways. A piece of his dark heart lightened as he gazed down at her. Vader moved towards her, and she flung her arms around him, burying her head in his chest, like she was still the little girl that had followed him everywhere and worried every time he was gone. It was also completely unexpected, and she drew back when he didn't return the hug and looked up at the mask that towered a good foot and a half above her own head. But he didn't need to see her eyes to know her pain. "Come on," Vader spoke at last when the silence between them stretched too long, "let's go."

_"You're alive." _A voice in his head stated with wonder.

"_So are you." _He responded and he let his happiness flow to her. Despite all the years they had been apart, they minds were still so close that they were almost one.

"_Thank you." _Her gratitude washed over him. "_I owe you one." _Arden smiled ruefully up at him

"_You owe me nothing," _Darth Vader thought seriously, _"you have no idea what you have done for me."_

"_Fill me in, what's been happening? I literally know nothing!" _Arden's insistent thoughts filled his mind. He could slowly feel a spark of life returning to her. She had seen his memories, but not all of them, and they were probably out of context. He began answering her questions, putting off the one he knew that would come, keeping that through securely at the very back of his mind. He didn't want her to ask "_What happens next?" _Because when she did, nothing would be the same. He wanted the world to freeze. He wanted to live in this perfect moment forever. Unfortunately forever doesn't exist and good times will never last forever.


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes: **Sorry this update was late, life caught up with me. The next update will be posted on Thursday as usual

* * *

Arden could feel confusion radiating off the clone troopers as the shuttle rose up back to the Executor, however they didn't say anything, at least out loud. With her hearing amplified by the Force she could nearly make out the chatter of their comlinks which were supposed to be undetectable. She wondered what they thought of her, this emaciated teenage girl in almost no clothing with far too many scars. She tried to act like she didn't care, but she did. She always did, she was never good enou-_STOP_ Vader's voice reverberated in her head like a gong being struck. _Don't do that to yourself. It does not matter what a couple of insignificant clones thinks, it doesn't matter what anyone thinks. _

_People always say that, but it never helps. _She muttered in her mind, looking up at him. He was so much taller than her now she felt like she was looking up at a skyscraper.

_We will get you new clothing as soon as we arrive. _He accurately guessed the source of her discomfort, as always.

Together, the pair strolled aboard the ship, utterly ignoring all the stares that came their way, Vader had an terrified secretary running to find her clothing as they went to the medical bay and the healing power of the bacta tanks. Arden felt strangely reminiscent on the star ship, it reminded her of the clone wars, back when her future had been secure and she had someone to turn to. No she had Vader back, but she didn't know what was going to happen to her, or what she was going to do for the rest of her days, but she kept her thoughts buried so that Vader wouldn't worry.

Once Arden was in the tank, and the healing process begun, Vader spun around and was on his way to the bridge when Admiral Ozzel intercepted him. "Sir, the Emperor demands you contact him immediately." A thrill of fear ran through him as Vader walked towards the communication room. What could the Emperor want; could he already know about her? What would he do? Luckily he couldn't kill her without the risk of destroying Vader himself. He steadied his emotions, it would do no good to reveal Arden if the Emperor didn't know already. She wasn't ready to face him yet.

"There has been a great disturbance in the Force," Palpatine's voice reverberated with menacing power as he glared down at his kneeling apprentice. "A new Force-sensitive has awakened, you will find her."

"I already have found her; it was my appearance that triggered the disturbance." Vader admitted, fearing for what the Emperor had in store. Darth Sidious didn't respond, he merely continued to look down on the dark lord, waiting for him to continue. "It is Arden; she was once a great friend to Anakin Skywalker."

"And what do you intend to do with this 'Arden,'" his voice was chilling.

"I intend to train her as one of us," Vader reluctantly gave up his hope for her future.

"What of the Rule of Two that has served us for millennia?"

"That rule was meant to preserve us until we had control over the galaxy, which we now have. Additionally," Vader spoke carefully, this could go very poorly, but he had little patience for verbal sword fighting. "I cannot kill her; we had… have a Force bond. One will suffer very deeply; perhaps die if the other is killed."

"A bond you say, what is the nature of this bond?" Vader could not get a read on Palpatine's emotions.

"We sense each other's thoughts and emotions at all times."

"Then why have you not mentioned her before?" A hint of suppressed anger had entered his master's voice.

"I believed her dead or shielding herself from me; she had been kept captive and drugged for the better part of the last five years."

"And if she does not turn…" The Emperor let the threat hang in the air.

"She will, she must."

"See that she does; do not fail me Lord Vader." The Emperor's image vanished, and Vader was alone in the enormous chamber. Despite his assured words, there was fear in his dark heart, because for all his understanding of her, he had no idea what she would do, and if she made up her mind to remain a Jedi, there would be nothing he could do to change her, and what would the Emperor do then?

Bright durasteel hooks gleaming in all their cruelty, white washed walls hinting of what was to come. A table in the middle, so clean it could be used for a mirror, the smell of bleach. A row of glittering instruments, it was here she walked, arms pinioned, mouth gaged, eyes huge and staring. Far worse than any cave or dungeon or mad scientist's lab, the pristine condition and the in human, unfeeling quality of the room was too much. Arden tried to stop, but it was futile she had no power here.

The black emptiness filled her soul as she was laid on the table, messy black hair and bruised skin seemed to have no place in the meticulous lab. The soft hydraulic sounds of a droid walking filled her ears, and her body strained to free itself from the bonds that held her down. Soft screams muffled by a gag grew louder as the bulbous eyes of the automaton. "You will tell us the location of the secret hyperspace lane from the core to Coruscant." Arden's spin arched and nails dug into the unrelenting metal beneath her as she tried to free herself …

Her eyes flashed open and the bacta tank exploded in a wave of fear, parts flew across the room, nearly decapitating the B-1 medical droid. As she realized where she was, she suddenly relaxed and dropped to her knees. She took several shuddering breaths and looked around at the devastation that she had wrought. Sparks were flying from severed wires, the medical droid was moving jerkily in circles. Bacta was running all over the floor and there were twisted hunks of metal and shattered glass impaled in both the wall and floor.

Arden quivered and hugged her knees; she was terrified of the chaos she had created. What if there had been someone in the room? What if she had killed someone? _A Jedi would never lose control of their powers like that. _The rouge thought drifted through her brain, and it was then that she knew that she had to confront what she was going to do. Two paths lay before her, two ways to walk, and she had to decide before the choice was made for her.

Vader felt her pain like a stab to the chest; her nearly doubled over, but recovered at the last instant. As it was there was no one around, and he began to walk as swiftly as he could without breaking into a run. _What could be happening? _He wondered as he tried to reach for her mind, but, perplexingly it was closed to him, he could not reach her, only feel her pain. He walked past several gunners who looked at him with a mix of fear and confusion. They thought that he was losing his mind probably. Vader realized that he needed to contain himself. He had enemies that would stop at nothing to bring him down, and if he were to die that would not be at all beneficial for Arden.

He found her in the middle of what looked like a war zone, her head on her knees, hands on her face, shaking like she was freezing to death. The med droid seemed to be trying to get to her, but its path was blocked by debris. Vader knelt by her side, still unable to contact her mind. "Arden," his artificial voice growled, it was not suited to comforting distraught teenage girls. She looked up at him, seeming somewhat startled by the sound of his voice.

"Yes," she whispered in a voice choked by tears.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Vader was somewhat taken aback. They didn't have secrets from one another.

"That's a lie," his voice hardened, and she looked up at him, eyes narrowed. As if she were daring him to go further, he did.

"Come with me, we should start your training." Arden cocked her head, confused. The dark lord went past the point of no return. "It is time to initiate you into the ranks of the dark side." He realized instantly that he had made a mistake. Arden recoiled from him and her eyes darkened.

"Don't I have a choice?" Her voice was as deadly as any razor.

"Yes, join the dark side or you will die." His anger was getting the best of him now, why didn't she want this? She had already begun to use the powers of the dark side when she killed the Hutt.

"Or I will die?" She quoted "Who's going to kill me? You? You couldn't kill me if you tried!" Arden snapped as she leaped up. He was angry now, this wasn't what he wanted. Why couldn't she understand they didn't have a choice? He reached out with his mind and tried to push her mind towards his point of view. Arden's fury raced through his mind and her mental walls slammed up, impenetrable to anyone except perhaps the Emperor.

Angry tears fells down her face as she stared at him, horrified. He had promised once, a long time ago that he would never try to alter her mind. Vader was not Anakin she realized. He was warped and twisted. Scared and hurt she ran, ran from him, ran from the choices that she didn't want to make from her confusion and from her nightmares. Stormtroopers leapt out at her as she sprinted down the hall in her hospital gown, bare feet slapping on the durasteel floor.

_I can't be a Sith! _No matter how fast she ran, she couldn't escape her thoughts. _The Sith are evil, I'm not evil, am I? _Doubt crept into her mind, she had killed the Hutt with lightning, that well, it definitely wasn't good. _Well, I don't want to be a Jedi any more. _She was definite on that. The Jedi had abandoned her and left her to die for just following the code. _Is my only option the Sith? Is it "good" or "evil" is there no in between? Why can't I choose my own path? Why can't I be in charge of my own destiny and future for once?_ She felt lost and abandoned. No one really cared about her, just what she had represented and what she could offer.

Vader stood alone in the chaos. He didn't fully understand why everything had gone so badly wrong. Then he remembered, from deep in his suppressed memories, sitting in the room of a thousand fountains, sounds of cascading water everywhere. He had been telling Arden about manipulating minds, and she had looked up at him, both worried and trusting, fearing for her mind and her sanity. "You'll never to that to me will you?"

"No, never," he had been so young, so naïve.

"Do you promise?" She had been so innocent and caring.

"Yes." What had become of those children, what had the universe done to them?

The memory replayed in his mind over and over. _You promised._


	5. Chapter 4

Arden sat in the dark for what felt like hours, alone with her thoughts while stormtroopers ran past. She had found an indent in a wall behind some crates of weapons where she fit. She was fairly certain that no one could see her, but she could see through a crack between the boxes. Arden wasn't exactly comfortable, but it was workable until the sleep cycle where she would try and find something more her size.

Her mind was walled off from Vader, but not from her own vicious thoughts that grew darker with every passing hour. _Vader is a monster! He killed children! I should kill him before he does more damage to the galaxy! _But as hard as she might, she couldn't help but feel empathy for him as she knew what had driven him to do what he had done, and she had felt his own fear and desperation for Padme at the time. _But I can't kill him! It would kill me too, probably. But do I deserve to live? I haven't really done anything that means I shouldn't sacrifice myself. But could I kill him? I'm not good enough am I. I should just join him, that's all I'm good for… NO! I can't the Sith are evil! I am a Jedi. No, I'm not, not anymore. I am nothing and no one. _

So the self-deprecating, one-sided conversation went. Time passed, and the ship's lights turned off. Arden realized that she didn't really have a plan, and also she was voraciously hungry. The hall way had been silent for some time, so she cautiously pushed aside the boxes and stepped out into the corridor. She couldn't risk using the force except under desperate circumstances; he would find her in a heartbeat. In one tiny corner of her heart however, she wished for him to find her and keep her safe, her knight in shining armor as always.

Arden crept towards where she assumed the mess hall would be, avoiding security cameras as she tip-toed along. She encountered no one in her solitary trek down grey hallway after grey hallway. _These Imperials really need to learn a thing or two about decorating! _She thought with exasperation as she peered down yet another bland hallway. She hoped she was going in the right direction, there were no signs anywhere that she could see. Two double doors lay at the end of the hall, and her intuition told her that was where she wanted to go. Moving on silent feet, Arden reached the door, which opened with a hiss.

It was not the mess hall. It was Vader's chambers. Her heart had lead her where she wanted to go. Angrily Arden turned to leave as she tried to deny what her soul knew to be true, and in her struggle her mental blocks slipped and then fell away entirely. She was halfway down the hall again when she heard the characteristic hissing of hydraulic door. Arden froze on the spot as the sound of labored breathing filled the deathly silent hall. She swiveled around to face Vader, eyes on her toes, still bare from her time in the bacta tank. She opened her mouth to speak, though her mind was blank, but Vader beat her to it. "I'm sorry." Her head jerked up, certain she had misheard, but no, he repeated it in her mind _I'm sorry._

"For what?" Arden blurted aloud without thinking.

"For trying to force you into a path not of your choosing," the dark lord responded calmly, but Arden could feel a suppressed wave of nervousness.

_I forgive you; _she switched to her mental voice, accompanied with her emotions. It was a state of venerability that she actually enjoyed.

_Have you made your choice? _Vader asked, his mental voice tinted with nervousness and a possessiveness that he could not hide. He wanted to keep her safe by his side, no matter what she wanted, but he was also truly trying to change his nature to give her a choice. That more than anything made her decision more obvious.

_I choose to be with you; _Arden stated, looking into his eyes. _I do not choose to be a Sith though. _She didn't know how he was going to react to that. _I will study the dark side, but for now I will not be a Sith. I will make my choice later. _She knew she was putting off the inevitable, but she needed more information. Arden could almost feel Vader relax, and she smiled.

Behind his dark mask, Vader smiled as well, relief filling him. This was good; he did not know why she had decided what she had. He could look, but when he had been searching for her, he had promised he would never make such a gross invasion of her privacy ever again. "Let's go get you some proper clothes," he walked beside her down the hall content for now just to be in her company once again.

The next morning saw her in a plain grey suit beside Vader's. Immediately upon awakening she decided that she had to redecorate as soon as possible. She would go mad if her entire life was viewed only in shades of grey. Even the new wardrobe she had acquired the previous night was essentially all black. What was it with imperials and monotones? Arden wondered as she rose. At least the bed was comfortable; she had actually had to sleep on the floor because the bed was too soft for her confused brain. She next embraced the luxury of a real water shower for the first time in far too many years. It was wonderful to be clean at last.

By the end of her shower she must have washed her hair a dozen times, in her opinion it was one of her best features. The soft, flowing, ebony locks hung down to the small of her back now. Arden braided it and dressed in one of the comfortable black ship suits that she had been given and smiled. This luxury and comfort were new to her. The Jedi had shunned possessions and forgone comfort, but if this is what the Sith had to offer that it was no wonder they had taken over the galaxy? Who wants to sleep in a cupboard of a room on a bed as comfortable as rock when she could have a full six rooms to herself and the most comfortable bed she had ever seen in her life? Realizing she was late, Arden quickly laced up her thigh-high boots, flung her cape over her head and waltzed out of the door.

The training room was just across the way, so at least she didn't have to go far, but Vader was ready and waiting when she got there. Arden could practically feel a raised eyebrow from across the room, and she winced. "Sorry I'm late," she said aloud, "I had a longer shower than expected." Darth Vader relaxed slightly when she let him know that it was the best shower that she had had in five years.

"Next time, I would prefer if you could be on time, today we will just be using the force, not light sabers. You prefer having two, correct?" Arden nodded, when she had chosen her fighting style at the temple when she was about ten, she had really wanted to use two full sized light sabers, however those were seen as purely sith weapons, so she was told she could have a shoto or guard saber and one full sized one. Now she realized she could finally have what she had always known would suit her best.

Arden focused her attention back on Vader, just in time as several old clone war relics, B-I droid marched out. These droids were stupid and slow, they overwhelmed by force of numbers, and Arden was slightly offended by his lack of faith in her skills. She slowed her breathing and calmed herself as the Jedi had taught. _Stop. Allow yourself to feel, release your anger and rage and joy and fear. _Vader's voice sounded different in her head than it did out loud, it sounded more like Anakin.

But she did as she was told and concentrated on her hatred of those who had captured her, and her anger at the Jedi for not helping her. A wave of the dark flowed through her mind, swamping her with power she never knew that she could possess. A wild smile lit her features as she released it at the droids. They were no match for her power and were flung against the opposite wall where they shattered into hundreds of pieces. Her entire body trembled as she looked over to Vader, eyes wide with shock. "This is incredible!"

"I know," Arden felt him smile behind his mask. Next came out the B-2 droids, their chrome plates glinted under the lights, and she drew on her rage once more, but this time she ran towards them, time slowed, but she moved normally. Wind whistled through her hair as she reached the first row of droids, she kicked down the first one, her foot going right through its chest. Arden spun, cape flying out behind her as a wave of Force lighting flew from her fingertips. _This is how it's meant to be. _She though losing her focus; suddenly the power was gone and time resumed its normal speed.

There were still several droids that moved around her in a circle. Arden felt drained of emotion, and as a last resort, drew on the light side, pushing the droids back as they lifted their arms, mounted with powerful blasters. Exhausted she lifted her hands again, but before she could call on the Force again, the B-2s crumpled into nothing and she relaxed slightly. Panting she turned back to Vader, furious at how feeble she had become, at how much of her skill she had lost. "Well done," he commented, "for not using the Force for five years that was good. Especially since throwing things was never your greatest skill."

She heard the door at the end of the training room open once more and turned to face the storm trooper. Arden pushed away at her exhaustion and reached for the man's mind, her self-deprecating anger still fueling her actions. She held the mind in her grip; it was weak and full of fear. She took that fear into herself and used it against the trooper as her mental grip closed tighter and tighter around his mind. His terror increased and she crushed his mind. Arden opened her eyes as the sound of armor falling to the ground filled her ears. She smiled as she felt Vader's approval in her mind. But now she was sweating as though she had just run a marathon.

"That is enough hard work for the day," Vader turned and left, leaving her with several small exercises that would test her mental dexterity, but not tire her much more. He had a call to make. But he was impressed, there was darkness in her and it longed for release, but the light in her was holding her back. One day she would realize the true potential of the dark side, and together they would be unstoppable. On that day, they would defeat the Emperor that had stolen everything from him.

He bowed as the Emperor's face loomed above him. "She has agreed to learn the ways of the dark side." The Emperor said nothing, he must know that Vader was holding something back. "She has not yet agreed to become a Sith."

"Bring her before me." A thrill of fear ran though Vader, she would be killed if she resisted, he needed more time to convince her.

"She is not yet ready." He hadn't been so worried since he had become Darth Vader

"You have one month." The Emperor signed off, as blunt as ever. The Emperor could be cunning and devious, but he had no reason to waste words on his servant. The dark lord rose and went back to Arden, Vader had lost everything he had to that man, he wouldn't let the Emperor take Arden too.


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **I am using book cannon over movie cannon here, so Barriss is around the same age as Anakin, and Barriss did not fall to the darkside.

The hiss of hydraulics echoed through Vader's dark private chambers as he opened his meditation chamber, and allowed the external air to enter. He sat without a helmet or chest plate, legs crossed, and utterly focused. The dark lord channeled his rage and hate of Obi-Wan, forcing his scarred and damaged lungs to take in oxygen without the assistance of his suit. It was a pleasant feeling to breath like an ordinary man, but with that thought went his focus and his rage. Frustrated, he hit a lever with the force and the chamber began to close, but not before he heard the door to his chambers open, and an inquisitive mind reach more fully for his. He stiffened as Arden walked into the light from his chamber, odd emotions racing through his veins.

Arden lay on her bed that may as well have been made from clouds it was so comfortable. She still hadn't been able to sleep on it last night, the third night she had been in this room. She had just rolled around for hours before moving to the floor where she fell asleep instantly. This luxury was too much for someone such as her. Arden wondered how long it would take before she would be able to sleep in her new bed. Not for the first time she wondered what favored person had these chambers as their own before she had arrived, she wondered what had happened to whoever that person had been. Again she reminded herself to ask if she could renovate, greys and blacks were not her color.

_What am I doing? _She wondered suddenly both angry and afraid. _Have I already accepted the dark side? Is it so easy? _Her doubts began to flow like water. _I need to leave, I need to clear my head, I need to…but why? _Another side of her entered the internal fray. _I belong more here than anywhere else. Why not just give in? Why fight yourself any longer. Just accept the dark; it is a part of you now. _Arden covered her ears and curled up against the tall backboard of the bed. She shielded her mind even though she felt that Vader was intently focused on something else. She felt like she was being torn in two, but she still couldn't choose. Both sides where pulling with even strength, and she felt like a tug-of-war rope, and who knew when she would snap.

With a massive effort, she cleared her mind, an idea forming. She sat up, crossed her legs and reached to the light, it was harder than before, but she found it all the same. There was peace here, and quiet, Arden began to levitate objects and then began to orbit them around her. A part of her wanted to stay this way forever, in this frozen state. This was peace, this was serenity, but it also reeked of stagnation and seemed devoid of change or action. She lowered the objects, as her complex know of emotions threatened to overwhelm her. She relinquished the light side and then embraced the darkness that her feelings represented. With the light she could not confront them, or release them, only contain them. But with the dark side… the emotions tumbled through her mind as she pulled on the objects around her once more. It seemed far easier to control, and she found that she could even lift herself above her bed. This was power, this was glory and everything she had never knew she wanted.

That was the problem; it felt so right, and so easy. She knew it was something of a trap, but part of her didn't care. That was the part of her that was afraid. Afraid of what would happen to her should she choose the light. Would Ana…no Vader be forced to hunt her down? Could he even kill her without destroying himself? How could she choose? How could she decide when there was no one to show her what was right anymore? A wave of focused anger rolled past the mental barricade she had erected. Cautiously, she lowered the walls of her mind, train of thought broken, curiosity piqued. Why was Vader so upset?

Arden rose from her bed and stalked out of the room, cape billowing behind her. The doors to Vader's private chambers recognized her and opened with a snap as she walked in. Inside, it was dark, the only light came from the meditation sphere in the middle of the room, and it was closing. But she could still see into the chamber, and what she did see made her gasp in horror. The chamber stopped closing. Arden felt Vader's confused snarl of emotions rip through her mind. Anger was the predominate emotion, but there was also shame, disgust, embarrassment and sorrow. Somewhat sickened that she had caused him to be hurt, she walked forwards with caution, her feet making no noise on the duracrete floor.

"What have they done to you?" Arden whispered; anger and dismay exploded in her as she gazed upon Darth Vader's scarred and burned face. This rage was like a wild animal awakening in side of her. She remembered the pain, she remembered the burning and she wanted to rip Obi-Wan limb from limb and leave him screaming. Arden couldn't help but to compare the face before her to the face she had known as a child. Now a deep scar lay red against the top of his bare skull, and his cheek seemed like someone had clawed him with blazing hot talons. All his hair had been burned away and his face was pale as death itself.

Vader lowered the helmet back onto his head; he knew full well the thoughts that were flashing through her mind. He had thought them himself when he had first seen the new face Obi-Wan had given him. Part of him wanted to turn away to hid his shame, but he made himself stare right into her bright blue eyes with pupils encircled by gold. So Vader watched as her eyes began to fill with tears, tears of sorrow and anger; tears for him.

"I'll kill them all," Arden whispered with deadly intensity, the golden ring around her pupils seemed to expand with her fury. Her slender body seemed to quiver, her hands bunched into fists, face twisted into a snarl. _The Jedi are monsters, _she though, thinking not just of Vader's scars, but hers as well. _They deserve to burn._

"We'll do it together," Vader almost smiled as his fears of her leaving dissipated like dew in the dawn.

* * *

Far from the Executor on the bleak world of Mirial a women knelt at the foot of a grave. The grave was empty but for two Lightsabers, but it was far more symbolic than just a cache for forbidden relics. Besides, no one but the women actually knew what was inside. Three years ago, the woman had buried her past her and had tried to move on. She had stayed on the planet of her people, but it was not her home, it was the farthest thing. Mirial was dry and bleak and lonely, far from the temple where she had grown up. The temple was light and joy and wisdom. It was family it was friends, the Temple had been the place she called home, but it was gone now, washed away by the Empire.

She had tried to stay away from the grave and the dangerous dark emotions it gave her, but she couldn't stay away, so now she was leaving this planet, and once again she would try to outrun her past before it consumed her entirely. Tears slipped down her cheeks despite her best efforts and fell to the parched earth. Barriss Offee mourned for everything she had lost, especially her master and best friend, Luminara Unduli. She had nothing, Barriss had gone from a Jedi, with everything she had ever wanted or needed and a bright future, to nothing but a simple Mirialian bar maid.

Unanswered questions plagued her day and night, mostly just 'why?' Why hadn't the Jedi been able to stop the slaughter? Why hadn't they noticed before they were dragged into the perfect trap? Why did no one see that the Sith were a bigger threat that they had been? Why hadn't someone stopped and realized what was happening? Why should she still live? At least she had an answer to the last one, at least sort of.

She had been on a solo mission with only four troopers and Master Unduli. She had been ahead, scouting out a separatist camp when she had felt the dark side, when she had come back, Luminara had been dead, along with three of the troopers. Barriss had killed the last one herself. But there were still questions. "How had four troopers managed to defeat one of the greatest Jedi of the Clone Wars? That had been the worst night of her life, every Jedi death was like a punch to the gut, and the massacre at the temple had nearly made her pass out, she still felt sick just thinking about it. Guilt and grief had dominated her life for months before she could finally act like a Jedi again. Still, some times the emotions were too much. Barriss wished she could banish them forever. A true Jedi could deal with their emotions; a true Jedi would never have wasted so much time wallowing in grief when there were Sith to over throw.

But now she was done with emotions and done with the past. It was time for her to do something. It was her duty as a Jedi to try her best to bring the force back into balance. That was why she was here in the first place. She would need her Lightsaber back. Furtively, Barriss looked around, but there was no one in site, she had chosen a very out of the way place for the grave. With the Force, Barriss lifted the dirt up into the air, revealing the slim, metal tube. As soon as she had retrieved it the dirt fell back into place and she rose, dusting off her robe.

With the saber tucked up her sleeve, Barriss walked into the spaceport. White clad storm troopers marched through the terminal, looking sinister in their anonymous armor. She had covered up some of her markings to make it more difficult to recognize her, but she was still nervous as she booked passage about the cruise ship the 'Pride of Sullust' Barriss had no real plan to go on, only the Force, and that would have to be enough. She was going to the planet of Bellassa.


	7. Chapter 6

Barriss stepped of the transport into a bright Bellassa day. It was really a beautiful day, nothing like the dry and frigid Mirial, she smiled as she walked forward, adjusting her new clothes. She wondered if anyone would recognize her with her tattoos covered and hair shorn. Now that she was on the planet, she felt less sure of her course, not more, as she had hoped. The Force had directed her to this place, but no further, she could not rely on it for every aspect of her journey.

Bellassa was a beautiful world, all bright greens and pure azure blues and all her problems seemed less urgent. It was a place where lovers strolled arm in arm, children laughed and there was music on every corner. Barriss walked forward into the streets with the brightly painted cafes. She stopped in one and bought a caf, reclining under an awning. _Where do I go from here?_ Barriss wondered as she sipped on her drink and watched the passersby, cautiously feeling their minds for Jedi training that would signify she was, in fact in the right place.

It wasn't the first time that she had doubted the will of the Force. Even with such a great Master as Luminara Unduli she had doubted. Doubted that what the Jedi where doing with the war was in fact the right thing, doubted the will of the council. It was hard to trust now, when the Force had proven the war was wrong. All of them, all the Jedi, dead, and Sith in control once more. The balance of the Force had changed; it was more somber, the dark side called louder and more seductively with each passing time she used to Force.

For a while she had been ready to abandon the Force completely, when it had been obvious that the Force had betrayed her. After Luminara's death, Barriss hadn't been able to access the Force, her doubt in it was too strong. Slowly she had realized that it was not the work of the Force that had killed her master, but the machinations of two Sith Lords, Sith Lords that would pay with their lives. This was Barriss's goal. They had to die, the Force had to be brought back into balance before more damage was done. She knew that some Jedi had to remain, some had to have escaped like her, and it was inconceivable that she was the only one, her, neither the best nor the brightest of the Jedi Order. That monster Darth Vader had to be hunting someone.

If she could bring the Jedi together, if she could manage that, then perhaps they would have a shot at defeating the Sith Lords once and for all, and peace could return to this war-scared galaxy. Her caf long gone, Barriss stood up and asked directions to the nearest hotel, she would need to scour this town for force sensitives. It was dangerous, they could be dark siders, but she had to try, or risk walking around this city forever without ever finding anyone. Luckily she had some money, but it wouldn't be enough to keep her fed forever. The Jedi order had always provided, but they were gone, she had worked, but it wasn't enough.

Barriss sat in the middle of her bed, cross legged, eyes closed, head tilted upwards. She opened herself to the Force, letting it roll through her like an ocean wave, not fighting, flowing. Only when she was confident that the Force would not escape her again did she reach into it. Her mind raced through the city, searching, peering into the gloom. Two bright lights stood out, one was dim and flickering, but growing stronger. Another burned as bright as a small sun. A Jedi master! There were others around, but they were not sensitive to the Force. A warehouse, on the outskirts. She felt the attention of the master turn towards her, and she tried to reassure the being that she was friendly, but she reached to quickly and the force slipped from her like water flowing out of cupped hands.

Bright crystal blue eyes snapped open as Barriss returned to herself. Annoyed at the slip up she rose, there would be no sleep for her tonight, she had to find this warehouse and prove her identity. They might move before she could get to them if they thought she was a Sith. She practically ran out of the hotel, drawing odd looks from the guests in the lobby. She had no time to rent a speeder so she simply ran, ran with all the speed the Force could give her, using it to direct her towards the warehouse. The two Jedi's presence burned in her mind, glowing like candles.

The moon was rising when she reached the building. It stood dark against the backdrop of space, cut out of something darker than the night. Barriss knocked on the door hesitantly, and waited for a long time before someone came to the door. Light spilled out and she gasped as she instantly recognized the face.

* * *

Darth Vader couldn't sleep. Or more accurately didn't want to sleep. Sleep was a dangerous realm, filled with ghosts of the past, and there were just too many ghosts. Usually he pushed his memories to the back of his mind where he couldn't feel them, but in the night the crept out like so many spiders and filled his black soul with despair. So he fought against the battle droids he had created. He fought and tried to forget, but they memories clung to him like cobwebs, little strands of darkness threatening to devour him. Shattered bits of droid lay scattered across the floor, spewing sparks and it wasn't enough.

More droids slipped into the room and he ignited his Lightsaber, reading himself once more. Voices whispered in his head, damming him to the deepest circles of hell. Voices declaring that he was a monster, voices screaming. A voice whispering: _Anakin come back to me, I love you. _The wave of droids had been dismantled, broken into pieces so small there was no hope of repair. "Padme," he whispered. She was the reason he couldn't sleep, the reason that the demons taunted him, and he felt he deserved it. Another cascade of twisted thoughts wove into his mind, but they were not his own. Next it was pain, a stabbing, twisting pain in his chest that nearly brought him to his knees. Arden, Arden was hurt. Vader deactivated his Lightsaber and spun around, leaving the broken droids and the ghosts behind.

Her chambers were as dark as a crypt, the lights turned on as he moved towards her room. Arden lay thrashing on the floor, tangled in a thin blanket, bed still perfectly made. The Dark Lord was confused for a moment, but then Arden gave a heart breaking whimper, and folded herself into a little ball. "Arden," Vader kneeled down and shook her shoulder as gently as he could, but she didn't stir, instead she screamed and her pain nearly broke his heart. She was lost in a world where he could not help her, all he could do was sit and watch.

That was when he realized that he within the unique position to help just this one girl, this singular person who had the power to change his own life completely. Gently, as though she was made of china, he lifted up her shuddering body and laid her on the bed. Placing his gloved hands on her temple he reached inside her mind, bracing himself for what he would see.

Her pain was overwhelming, her tortured mind screaming for release, trapped in a vicious cycle of memories, she was no longer in control of. Vader saw flashes of needles and blood and fire. It was almost too much, and then he saw more, images of lava and hate and fighting between brothers. Mustafar. How had she seen, how had she known? She knew everything there was to know about him and she still chose him above the light. He tried to continue plowing through the never-ending sea of horrific memories, but there was just too much, there was so much horror in her young life. He was being dragged down into her nightmare.

Wrists tied to a pole, gaged and broken. A man stood before her, clean and neat with an immaculate white lab coat and perfectly polished nerf hide shoes. The gag was removed. "Tell us the access codes," the man's voice was deadly smooth, like oil.

"I don't know anything," she spat, voice dry and cracked from lack of use.

"Well," he whispered in her ear "I think you're a lying little whelp." The man rose to his full height and lifted the whip from the durasteel counter. "And now you're going to tell me the truth." The whip snapped and she tried not to make a sound, but a whimper escaped as she felt the whip fall against her back a second time and hot blood ran down her spine like so many rain drops. By the fifth time she was screaming

"I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!"

"Liar," he hissed. She was sobbing now, and her tears mixed with the blood on the unfeeling steel floor. _Anakin help me_, she though with desperation, eyes staring up in a silent plea, _someone help me. _

Vader was sent reeling back into his own self once more and he started, looking down at the still shaking form, her face deathly pale against the black shimmersilk sheets. Guilt washed through him, she had begged him for help and he hadn't heard. No one had heard the pleas of one lonely and abandoned Jedi padawan, and no one had come to save her from her nightmare. Her robe had slipped from her shoulder in her struggles, and he could still see the angry red lines crisscrossing her back. Plainly her time in the Bacta tank had not been enough.

He braced himself as he entered her mind again, letting anger at those who had hurt her fill him. Vader did is best to ignoring the images and sensations that she was feeling as he attempted to reach her consciousness. He would not fail her this time. Struggling like a fish swimming upstream, he found her soul. Vader could feel her struggling and her desperate attempts to block out the memories and the pain. He reached out to her and built up walls around the two of them, stopping the cascade of memories.

They both awoke at the same time, Arden lying on the bed, Vader sitting on the edge. She sat up and flung her arms around him, tears filling her eyes. For a moment he was frozen, awash with memories of Padme, the smell of her hair and the feel of her skin on his. But the moment past, he felt her fear and held her close as her body shook with tears she would not let fall. Padme held his heart, but Arden held a part of his very soul, and he held a part of hers. The two broken beings sat in silence, both knowing that even though they had both lost everything, they would always have each other, and that was enough. "I will always help you," he whispered.


	8. Chapter 7

**Authors Note: Sorry, but my life has gotten really hectic lately and unfortunately I will only be able to update once every two weeks until further notice **

* * *

When Arden awoke, Vader was gone. They had stayed up for most of the night talking, talking about nothing at all, merely talking to hear the sound of each other's voices. She must have fallen asleep in the early hours of the morning, for according to the chrono on her bed, it was 10:30 in the morning. She had actually slept in the bed, it was a bit of a shock, but she was glad, because it was truly extremely comfortable. In fact, she thought she might never move again.

Arden lay there in opulent luxury for a time, but she was ever a girl of action, and she soon rose. She had a shower, enjoying the real water as opposed to simply sonic vibrations. When she was bathed, clothed and had eaten, she was on her way to the training room to see if perhaps Vader was there when she noted that he was not in fact, even on the ship. His mind was far from hers, perhaps even on the other side of the galaxy. She reached for it, but found it shielded, his thoughts impossible to read. A feeling of betrayal and disappointment welled up inside her. What was he doing that she couldn't know?

Her eyes grew gold with her angeras she moved into the training room. She didn't know what she was going to do there, but she thought that she should at least do something to quell the burning of disappointment and anger inside of her. With the utmost care, Arden drew upon the dark side of the force, focusing on her hurt that he didn't trust her. She let it build until it threatened to consume her utterly before she at last gave it release in whatever form it chose to take. She was blinded as forks of intense blue lightning flashed from her outstretched fingertips, scoring the walls with long black scars.

It was a marvelous release to give in to the power she had always known that was inside of her. She had been stifled as a Jedi, she knew that now. The Sith where were she belonged. Her moth quirked into a demonic smile, her beauty remained, but it was terrifying to behold. The lightning slowly ceased its incandescent flickering, and she was left standing alone in the brightly light training room. It was then that she noticed the storm trooper standing quietly in the corner, watching. As soon as her eyes glanced his way, he walked forward.

When he reached her, the trooper gave a crisp salute and said "Lord Vader has requested that you go up to the bridge and begin learning the ways of command." Her rage began to simmer once more, he couldn't even be bothered to teach her himself. But now was not the time for rash actions. She pushed her anger away, storing it for later.

"Lead the way trooper," she replied as she flipped the dark, heavy hood over her face.

The bridge was not far from the hall that she and Vader shared. It was a fairly impressive room, with sunken control panels and vast windows staring into the blue void that was hyperspace. Her escort had gone up to the Admiral and told him something before marching smartly away. Arden watched the admiral, whose name was Adye Prittick with narrowed azure eyes. He was of middle age with dark brown hair and a fairly average build. In fact, he looked utterly unremarkable.

However, his soul told a different story. This man was cunning and ruthless, he cared little for anything but the Empire, this was the sort of man that would turn his family over to the Empire to be executed without a second thought. He was also a bit of a boot licker. She despised him immediately. He walked over to her and inclined his head. "Ma'am, welcome aboard." Indignation flared, she was no simple 'ma'am', no fragile toy. Not anymore. She threw her hood back and looked straight into his eyes.

"It's lord to you," she snapped and whirled around, cape smacking the Admiral in the legs. Distain emanated from him, of course he only saw an emaciated teenage girl who had no right to be there. He would never respect her if she didn't change his opinion right now. She probably couldn't strangle the man himself without repercussions, but… Arden looked towards the view ports where two clone troopers stood. She reached into her anger and focused it at the two; they began to float up into the air, clawing at their throats. Arden didn't move, her back still facing the admiral. "And I am much more than I seem."

The troopers clattered to the ground, one dead, and one gasping for air. She felt some of his contempt fade, and some fear grow. It was a good start, she would earn his respect in due time. Arden looked over at the storm trooper she had so mercilessly killed, remorse filled her. She knew she should feel bad for them, they were nothing to a Sith lord, but they were something to her. Storm troopers had saved her many times and she had never repaid them, they deserved more for their sacrifice. With a lurch, the Star Destroyer dropped out of hyperspace and Arden's wide eyes took in the battle scene before her. Bright flashes of red and green lasers stood out boldly in the vacuum of space. TIE Fighters flew in all directions followed or chasing ships of innumerable make and model.

A planet spun nearby, surrounded by several capital ships and heavy cruisers. Arden assumed that this was simply a planet resisting Imperial control. Her suspicions where verified a moment later when Admiral Prittick shouted "Scramble the TIEs and head for the heavy cruisers! Get the gunners to their stations." Arden moved to the middle of the view port, trying to stay out of everyone's way. She was no help here. Or was she, with her mind she reached out to the minds of those piloting the nearest capital ship. It was hard work, her forehead wrinkled with the strain, oblivious to anything else. She touched a mind and attempted to force it to her will, the mind was strong, but completely unprepared for the attack. She had but seconds to wrest control from the man.

With a push of strength she succeeded and the man was hers, and the pressure on her mind lessened. The man started running, his mind was pushing back, but she had control now and it was easy for her to keep it. His crew watched with dopey confused eyes. Moving swiftly, the man made his way to the engines where he pulled out his gun. His consciousness revolted, trying with everything he had to remove her from his body. She held him at bay while he shot the gun once, twice, three times into the main reactor. The man was killed instantly as the ship exploded, Arden was knocked back into her own body, panting and sweating. She was inundated with a flood of memories.

The day was bright, as the little boy ran through the grass to his mother's waiting arms. Playing catch beneath a tree with his father. Graduating from flight school, applying for a post to defend the planet. Getting married, and holding his son in his arms. Tears slipped down her face as the flow of thoughts, hopes and dreams of Admiral Evan suddenly stopped. Angrily she wiped the tears from her face that was lit by the glow of the exploding ship.

* * *

"Obi-Wan," Barriss was in shock, "you're alive!" She moved forward and embraced the Jedi master.

"Barriss," he smiled and hugged her back, I'm so happy your alive."

"Do you of anyone else?" Barriss couldn't manage to keep the desperation out of her voice.

"I only know of Yoda, how about you, do you know of anyone?"

"Yoda! But that's wonderful, is he here? No, I don't know of anyone else." She beamed, Yoda, two Jedi masters! She hadn't dared to hope for so many.

"That's too bad," Obi-wan grew more somber, and Barriss knew how he felt. They had lost so many friends that day, and more were dying all the time as the Emperor's assassin, Darth Vader took out more of their dwindling numbers. "But where are my manners!" He exclaimed, trying to regain some of their former happiness and shake off the webs of despair. "Come on in."

The warehouse was quite, but despite the hour it wasn't empty. It was then she remembered that there had been another Jedi or at least another force sensitive. "Who else is here?" she asked, cocking her head up at the taller Jedi.

"I'm not sure if you remember him, but it's Ferus Olin, he left the order at the beginning of the Clone Wars." Barriss nodded.

"I remember him, he had a lot going for him, all the makings of a great Jedi Knight. I don't recall why he left."

Obi-wan was about to respond when Ferus walked up. "Barriss!" he exclaimed. She smiled once more and embraced the ex-Jedi. "Welcome to our little rebellion," Ferus announced as he released her and swept his arm through the arm indicating the warehouse. There were about nine others, sitting in chairs, pretending to talk, but really listening to every word that the three Jedi were saying. Ferus began to show Barriss around the warehouse, telling her all about the rebellion against the empire that had sprung up here. "But now," he was saying as they came to the end of the narrative "the Imperials have said that if I don't surrender myself by tomorrow they are going to execute all the people they have arrested because of me. I am unsure of what to do next."

"I will join you," Barriss said calmly as she looked up into Ferus's face. "We will figure out something."

Ferus, Obi-wan and Barriss sat down in the circle of chairs, and she looked around at the faces of the Eleven, as this group was known. But it was really ten, as one of their number, a Roan Lands, had been captured by the Empire. They looked both brave and scared, they were ready to do what was needed, but she wasn't sure how many had the stomach for killing.

"This is Jedi Knight Barriss Offee," Ferus announced her to the group. "She has come to help us in our battle against the Empire." The people around her lost some of their scared expression, there where now two full Jedi Knights and an ex Jedi, they had all heard the stories about what Jedi could do, and now they hoped, hoped for a Empire free future that suddenly was looking more possible.

Their faith in her was overwhelming. She had let down Master Luminara, who was to say that she wouldn't let down all of these people too. Barriss was scared to let them down, but she wasn't as perfect and incredible as these people believed. She would probably fail them as she had failed ever one else in her life. But she would have to try; she would do her utmost for these people that still believed in her when she couldn't even believe in herself. She felt the tears begin to creep up on her again, but she pushed them down and deal with them later.

They were talking all around her about how they were going to stop over a thousand people from being executed when they numbered but twelve. Barriss refocused her mind on to what they were saying, she had a place to belong now; a place where she was accepted and for that she would never be able to repay them.


	9. Chapter 8

The battle raged on all around the Imperial cruiser, bright lights and fire balls filled the icy void of space. On the bridge of the capital ship, Arden stood, appearing to survey the chaos around her. Admiral Prittick was shouting something at her, but noise was meaningless. She was in a state of semi shock, her mind still reeling from effect of her mind meld, she was exhausted. It certainly wasn't something that she would be attempting again anytime soon. To feel some one's emotions and dreams, and then…It was akin to killing one's self. She would have to withdraw her mind faster in the future. If there was a future, for she had gained a new perspective while in the man's head.

He believed, to the very depths of his soul that the Empire was evil, that the Sith where evil. That realization had shaken her faith in the decisions she had made. She didn't think that she was an evil person, but he thought that she was evil. Who was right? What made a person 'evil'? Was it something inside them? Was it what they did? What they said? How they behaved? Could an evil person become good, or did the evil linger? Was evil tangible or was it like smoke? How did one know evil? Could she take being called evil? What side would history see?

A tap on the shoulder returned Arden to reality like a shock of cold water. The man's thoughts faded from her head and some of her former certainty returned to her. "How did you do that!?" The admiral was in a state of shock, he had never in all his dreams thought such a thing was possible. He wanted her to do it again.

"The Force works in mysterious ways," she said quietly, limbs quivering with exhaustion, "I hope you paid attention because I will not be doing it again." She felt the indignation rise in him like a snake, he wanted more, but he also wanted her under his control.

"Now here, you must…" Arden stalked away, not waiting for him to finish his sentence. She had never had such a bad headache in her entire life, and she wanted to lie down and sleep or soak in the shower again. Her very bones were heavy with fatigue; it had taken a lot more out of her than she would like to admit. The world blurred with exhaustion, colors blending and the edges of her vision became hazy, and nothing was real but the incessant drumming in her head.

It wasn't until she reached the medical wing that she realized she was burned and bleeding. Arden had initially gone there in the hopes of getting something for her ever increasing headache. Additionally she noticed that part of the headache was caused by Vader attempting to figure out what was going on. Her annoyance with him was such that she closed her mind firmly and gave into the droids desperate ministrations. The pounding in her head doubled as Vader tried yet again to get inside her head, but she did her best to ignore it, instead wondering at her wounds. The connection between herself and the fleet admiral had gone much deeper than she thought. It was like Mustafar all over again, but at least the Medical team wouldn't call her a demon or a freak this time.

_His poor wife and son will be devastated_. The unwanted thought drifted through her brain like a gust of wind. She could see them clearly in her mind's eye, and she felt what he had felt for them. A beautiful young wife, worried about a husband going off to war, a baby boy smiling in her arms, sun reflecting off his golden hair. The tears slid down her pale face._ Maybe I won't dream in the Bacta Tank. _It was a futile hope; she didn't want to close her eyes, to the never ending nightmares that lay on the edge of her consciousness. For now there was one more terror she would have to face alone.

* * *

Barriss sat in the ventilation shaft, not moving, hardly daring to take so much as a shallow breath. Doubts flickered through her mind with the consistency of falling rain. This plan was so unlikely to succeed that it was nearly comical. They had implanted two of their number into the crowd of prisoners to control and calm them. Ferus was going to present himself to the authorities and… A loud alarm suddenly blared near her head and she started. Annoyed, Barriss realized that she had not been focusing enough on the present, and had been worrying too much about the plan.

With a hiss her opalescent blue Lightsaber ignited, and she plunged it through the flimsy metal of the ventilation shaft. Barriss landed on the floor, exactly in the middle of the control room. Every single person, about eight of them panicked and began to shoot her. With only a moderate effort she deflected the bolts and disarmed all eight of the men within 30 seconds. She killed six of them in the following 27 seconds. The two that remained lay cowering on the floor, she knelt beside one of them and waved her hand. "All is well," she said in her calmest voice.

"All is well," the man repeated blandly while his companion looked on in horror, but he was too scared to actually do anything.

"You will answer all transmissions as if all is normal." Barriss waved her hand in front of the man's dazed eyes again, relived that he at least was weak minded.

"I will answer all transmissions as if all is normal." The first man was under her control now, but the second seemed to be preparing to shake his cohort awake. Barriss reached the second man's mind before he could do anything and repeated the process with similar results though his mind was more difficult to control. When she was done, the three of them rose. The men went back to their communication stations and proceeded to follow her instructions. Barriss allowed herself a smile of satisfaction; mind tricks had never been her specialty, she was a healer, but that had gone off without a hitch.

She was about to begin moving the six bodies when her comlink beeped with frantic urgency. "Barriss here," she answered in clipped military tones.

"It's Obi-Wan," the Jedi master responded, "We need your help, there is more resistance than we expected." Barriss was out of the door before he had finished his sentence and was sprinting down the empty halls. No one had expected an attack right in the heart of the base, and thus all the personnel had run off to stop Obi-Wan and Ferus, at least surprise had been on their side. She met only two people on the way to the main complex where Obi-Wan was waiting for her; she killed both the imperials before they could draw their blasters.

The main halls were a war zone, imperials were everywhere, trying to keep the prisoners under control. Obi-Wan was cutting down officers and storm troopers with rigorous efficiency, some of the officers even seemed to be edging away from him. Ferus was fighting hand cuffed and seemed to be struggling to deflect all the blaster bolts at once. The remainder of the 11 where surprisingly managing to hold their own despite the number of storm troopers, though they seemed to be falling back. The prisoners themselves had picked up blasters from the fallen and were adding their own bolts to the chaos. Making up her mind of whom she would assist first, Barriss sprinted towards Ferus, the Imperials noticing her for the first time.

Within moments she had reached him and with a flick of her wrist freed him from the handcuffs. He grunted a thanks and then began to fight in earnest. Twisting around, she stabbed a trooper through the gut. The rhythm of combat flowed through her as she shoved a commander against the wall with the force and anticipated a shot at her chest, deflecting it with ease. It was so easy to lose one's self in this. In the dance of war, to forget all but kill or be killed, that essential rule one was born knowing. But she didn't enjoy it, she wouldn't let herself enjoy it. Even though at this moment it felt like it was what she was meant to do. This was a path to the dark, the first step to becoming a twisted monster. Barriss couldn't let that happen, but she lost herself all the same.

After what seemed like endless days, or maybe it had been but an hour, there were only about twenty soldiers left, and most of those were wounded, perfect for their uses. They needed these imps alive, to keep the semblance of Imperial control, they couldn't afford to have a fleet arrive at Bellassa. Only two of the Eleven had died, and five had been injured, but the casualty rate among the prisoners was much higher. About half of them had died, and many of the remainder were wounded. She went to the most injured of the 11, while those who were less injured called for help and set up a triage center. Barriss kneeled, ignoring the burning of the shot that had hit her in the upper leg. Reaching out she delicately clasped her hand around arm of a young woman with several burns on her arms and torso.

Barriss closed her eyes and calmed her mind. The woman had begun to panic and Barriss sent her into a coma-like state where the healing would progress faster. Healing was her talent, her greatest skill, and her greatest joy. This was where she allowed herself to feel, to enjoy. She would have been the leader of the Jedi healers if… Refocusing her mind on healing, she let waves of the Force flow through the wounds and calmed the festering that was starting to create the blisters. With the Force she could manipulate the midiclorians of each cell in the body to enhance their healing power. It never failed to amaze her what she could do with the Force. As soon as she was done with the first rebel leader she moved to the next one, and the next one.

When she finally stood up, sun was gone from the narrow windows, and the stars where beginning to come out. Many more of the citizens had died before she could reach them, but she had saved as many as she could, she nearly fell over, but Obi-wan steadied her. "It's time to rest; you've done a wonderful job." Too tired to protest, Barriss allowed him to lead her to the barracks where they were now staying. Her mind was a fuzzy haze, and so she was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

* * *

Arden's mind returned to consciousness before the rest of her body responded, her subconscious attempting to block off the nightmares from her. However, the dark voices whispered in her ear and visions flashed before her still closed eyes. She felt Vader's mind once more connected with hers, trying to help push away the dreams. However, he was worried and confused, and angry, and hurt. Her eyes had slowly began to open before she remembered what was going on. The med droids, recognizing the spike in brain activity began to lift her out of the bacta tank. All her senses came back on line and she looked around the bright medical room. She felt Vader's glare on her as she left the bacta tank and the droids did some final checks. She felt his impatience building as she continued to ignore him, still angry with him for leaving her.

His patience snapped. "What happened?" She had made him angry now, but she didn't care.

"I took over a man's mind and had him blow up his ship, there were a few repercussions." Arden's voice quieted as she reluctantly lowered her mental barriers and allowed him to understand what had fully happened. She also allowed him to see the extent of her hurt when he had blocked her from his mind. With the barrier gone, the memories where overwhelming, his wife screaming at his burned corpse, a child growing up without a father. Realistic dreams, she had learned were much more horrifying than the regular terror her mind dreamed up. The flow of memories ceased as Vader stopped her recollections, and her panic faded to a minimum. "Thanks," she said quietly, still unwilling to look him in the eye.

"Well done." Vader added a mental pride he would never convey aloud, and Arden gave him a small smile as she finally met his gaze, suddenly frowning when she realized that he was still hiding something from her. Raising an eyebrow she mentally asked him what he was keeping from her. With a wave of his hand, two silver hilts floated in front of her. Arden gasped and gave him a smile. She couldn't make her own, because she wasn't truly a Sith yet, but she didn't mind.

The hilts were beautiful, bright silver with back accents; they were not just a weapon, but a thing of beauty as well. The sabers complimented Vader's own. They reached her hands, and she grabbed them. They fit perfectly in her grip, curved ends adding the optimum balance. With a snap and hiss, the bright crimson blades extended out a meter and a half in front of her. They weighed nearly nothing, and she began a simple exercise, ridiculous smile still spread across her face. Vader's mechanical skill showed through. These sabers were perfect, clean and elegant. "Thank you," she said adding wave of mental gratitude and joy, all anger dissipated all the wisps of the dream gone. This was a truly remarkable gift, one she would cherish forever.


	10. Chapter 9

Barriss awoke in the sparse military barracks, and for a moment she didn't know where she was, her head still felt heavy and fuzzy from the previous night's exertions. Furrowing her brow she brought the memories from the attack to the forefront of her mind. She recalled healing more people than she ever had before, but still she felt grief for all who had died to bring about this peace, for how long could they keep the Imperials in the dark about what had happened on Bellassa. But at least for now the planet was free.

Yawning, she sat up and nearly banged her head on the low bunk above her. This barrack was typical of the Imperial style, plain, austere and functional. There was no decoration or personalization anywhere, the Empire was ever devoted to stamping out individuality wherever they could. Ferus lay in the grey bunk across from hers. His arm and fallen to the ground and now his fingertips trailed on the cold, immaculate floors. He was snoring as well, the dusty blond hair that covered his face rising and falling with every breath. He looked much younger in sleep, the worried lines on his face faded into near nothingness, and the one highlight of silver in his hair stood out with amazing brilliance. Barriss rose from the bunk and tried to ignore his thick black eyelashes and soft looking…. She cut of her train of thought mid-way and stalked out of the long, narrow room that was suddenly claustrophobic.

The sun was already high in the sky when she walked into the mainly deserted dining hall; Barriss suspected that most of the citizens that had been prisoners had gone home, leaving only the most injured and the ones who wanted to help. Those who remained of the eleven where there too, talking, laughing and eating, still celebrating their victory with whoever would listen, signs of despair buried deep below. Barriss saw no sign of Obi-wan though, and after grabbing some sort of bread, she went looking for him. She needed to know how may had died, how many still needed her help.

She found him in the medical wing, just where she thought that he would be, monitoring those who sat suspended in the blue fluid of the bacta tanks. "Did you sleep at all?" Barriss asked as she noted the large bags under his eyes, and his tussled red hair.

"Some," he said as he glanced a read out for one of the patients "But there was lots to do here and you needed the rest more. " Barriss gave a sigh of exasperation; this man would work himself to death if no one kept an eye on him.

"Well, I'm up now, so you can go get some rest." She forcibly took the data pad from his hands and shoved him in the directions of the barracks. "Wake Ferus while you're at it. We need to decide what we are going to do next." Barriss watched him for a moment as he turned and plodded away before returning her full attention to the patient in the tank.

The man who floated placidly in the bacta before her had been hit with multiple blaster bolts to his torso and arms, kneeling; Barriss opened herself to the Force and began healing him, first the wounds on his chest. She couldn't completely heal him, there were many more patients she had to deal with, but she could at least speed up the process. Barriss worked at the deepest layers of the wound first, closing up capillaries and defeating the bacteria that threatened to cause infections. Healing blaster wounds was more difficult than vibroblades because of the cauterization that had crisped many of the cells. With those, she merely sped up the disintegration process. It was a tedious, healing cell by cell, but it was these tedious moments that she lived for. When it was just her and the healing process she was truly at peace, for her thoughts did not wander down the dark paths of the last several years. Instead she focused only on the present and her patient.

When she had partially healed most of the man's wounds, she prepared to move to the next most critically injured of those who had fought for them, however Ferus was striding towards her, when he met her gaze, he waved his hand, telling her to come. Reluctantly she looked back at the next woman that she was going to treat, but Ferus insisted, and with a sigh she rose and followed him.

"We have a lot to talk about," he began as she caught up with him, "This was a rather impulsive plan, now that Bellassa is free from Imperial control, we need to decide what we are going to do next." His tone had changed; he sounded more like a commander, a leader than a frightened young man who had lost too much. He didn't say any more until they reached the main conference room in the base. Barriss had plenty to think about though, one of the main reasons that they had chosen to attack the base was to find Ferus' friend Roan, but so far they hadn't found a single trace. Even though Ferus didn't have a plan, she was slowly figuring out what she, herself would do next.

Three Jedi, well two really, but Ferus had always had the potential to be a talented Jedi. The three of them would have to be enough to defeat Vader, it just had to. Firstly however, she was going to have to find out more about who this Darth Vader was. Had he been a Jedi knight or had he been trained as a Sith? If he had been a Jedi, who was he and why had he fallen so very far? Hopefully, she would be able to find some new information in the Imperial databases here. Once she had figured out something about him, then she would lure him here, hopefully with as few Imperial troops as possible. Then they would ambush him and hopefully, he would die and Luminara would be avenged.

Her plan was rough, she wasn't too proud to admit it had flaws, but she would smooth out the kinks. A tiny part of her mind told her that it was against the Jedi code that it was wrong and that Luminara wouldn't approve, but she ignored that voice and kept walking.

* * *

Arden sat upon a filthy blanket on the floor, her eyes closed. The blanket had been white at one point, however now it was stained with paint of various colors, predominately a deep maroon and a pale cream. The maroon paint was currently being applied on the wall by an invisible hand. The paint brush moved up and down in smooth and fluid strokes, occasionally stopping to dip itself in the bucket nearby. Sever other cans lay discarded on the stained rag that had once been a brilliantly white sheet

Arden's face was wrinkled with concentration, tongue peeking out from the corner of her mouth. Her eyes were tightly closed as she moved the brush carefully up and down the wall with the Force. She had to admit it was tricky to use fine motor skills with just the Force, but painting by hand was equally tedious. It made her arms hurt. She was nearing completing of the final wall of the first room in her suite. It had taken her far longer than it should have to decide what colors she was going to paint her walls with, but she had finally decided on cream for two of the walls and maroon for the third one. The final wall was covered with a striking black and white pattered wall paper.

The secretary who had delivered her things had not been very impressed. It had been about one in the morning at that point. She had no idea where the man had gotten her supplies especially the wall paper, but she didn't question it. The Sith did not ask about such things, Arden looked towards the large pile of furniture that lay heaped haphazardly in the middle of the room, away from the paint. The chrono lay half buried under a chair, reaching for it she read the time. 5:07 am. She had been up nearly all night, she had been tired at one point, but was past the point of exhaustion now.

Arden had practiced with her light sabers for much of the day, enjoying the feeling of having such beautiful weapons in her hands once more. The sabers felt as though they were an extension of her arm, like they had been there forever. Vader had helped her remember the skills that where once in her position, and it didn't take long until her muscle memory to kick back in. Arden had returned to her rooms later in the evening, feeling accomplished and fairly proud of herself. Her new life was feeling like something of a dream, she had escaped, found her best friend and now she had a purpose again. But why wasn't it enough? Why wouldn't the dreams leave her alone?

She wasn't going to let herself fall asleep, she couldn't. Arden also didn't want to add any more pain to Vader's life by making him end her dreams once more. It was just too much, so that was why she was still awake at five in the "morning". Technically, there wasn't a morning, outside the view port there was nothing but a vast expanse of stars and a backdrop of midnight, they had just left hyperspace once more, the ship now moving slowly towards yet another planet that refused to submit to the might of the Empire. She returned her attention back to the wall, muscles aching and head pounding, the brush began to move once more, a little bit more shaky than before, paint can floating a little lower.

Suddenly the door hissed open and a storm trooper entered, standing at attention. "Ma'am, the Admiral has requested your presence on the bridge." She could feel the confusion in his mind and also relief. He was baffled at the fact that she was painting a wall in the early hours of the morning, and he was relieved that he didn't have to wake up a potentially cranky Sith lord and pay the price.

"I'm a bit busy," Arden growled as she rubbed her nose, unaware that she had just smudged paint across it.

"I'm afraid that he insisted." The trooper was a bit nervous now, what would the Admiral do if she didn't come? What would she do if he told her again?

"I'm afraid that I don't care." She snapped as she looked up that the trooper for the first time. Shock and wonder suddenly filled his mind, and Arden furrowed her eyebrows, confused at the sense of recognition he had suddenly gotten upon seeing her face. "Trooper," she said slowly "take off your bucket… I mean helmet." She felt a blush rise at her slip up, Sith were not so familiar with their soldiers. The stormtroopers lifted the anonymous white mask from his head and Arden simultaneously read the man's thoughts as opposed to the pure emotion she intuitively knew.

The paint can clattered to the floor, followed by the brush as Arden stumbled backwards in shock and awe. "You're alive!" They both exclaimed in sync. Arden fluidly rose to her feet and walked forward, still half doubting the evidence of her eyes. "How?" she asked simply, looking up at the face of a Jango Fett clone, a face that dominated her nightmares.

"Um…" he began, seeming unsure of how to begin, "After you rescued us, I fought in a couple more battles before I was recalled to Kamino. They wanted to do some tests, and I was selected, they wanted to see if they could reverse the accelerated aging after a certain point. Well, it seemed to work because they kept me under observation for about four years, I only just was returned to active service about a year ago."

"What about the others?" she asked, cautious, trying not to hope and failing, but she already knew the answer before he spoke.

"No, they didn't make it," he said quietly, lowering his voice and looking at his boots.

Arden tried to ignore the pang in her stomach as she responded "Are they going to slow down aging on the other clones too?"

"No, it turned out to be far too expensive for your average trooper."

"Lucky you."

"Yeah," he said sarcastically, "Lucky me, I get to fight twice as long as every other trooper, I'm so lucky that I get to live with twice as many horrors in my mind as everyone else and I get to listen to the people that say oh, you're so lucky!"

"I'm sorry Nate," Arden whispered "I wasn't thinking."

"It's okay," Nate looked up at her and gave the smallest of half smiles, "So, what happened to you?" Arden tensed and looked away.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Did they kick you out?" Nate asked earnestly

"I said I didn't want to talk about it!" Arden snapped at him. To her horror she felt a tear slid down her face, with more on the way

"I'm sorry ma'am," Nate stated as he turned as walked out of the room, putting the helmet back on his head.

Arden looked around her room as the door hissed shut, trying to find a distraction in her newly painted walls, but there was none, heart pounding painfully in her chest, she slid down to the floor and began to cry in earnest.


	11. Chapter 10

The world was dark, truly dark, no light reached his eyes, no sounds hit his ears, and no breath of wind blew across his face. Vader was in a vacuum, a void, an absence of comforting reality. Alone, he was alone, panic began to set in. Alone, suffocating in a hell just for him. _Alone_, his brain screamed, you are all alone. Vader wanted to run, to yell to awake from what MUST be a dream. But he could neither move nor speak, or perhaps he was moving, but couldn't feel, perhaps he was screaming and simply couldn't hear. _Alone_. It was a dream. _Alone. _This couldn't be real. _Alone_. It felt too unreal to be truly unreal, perhaps it was a test. _Alone._ Would he pass it?_ Alone. _Would he ever escape?_ Alone_. Would Arden find him?_ Alone_. Was he dead? _Alone._

Suddenly, a light blinded his eyes, unable to blink, Vader watched. The light drew close, a form slowly becoming visible, grey against the nimbus of white. He made out a short, slender form that grew more crisp and clear with each passing second. The dark lord make out long, brown hair falling in a curling cascade, a pale heart-shaped face. Large brown eyes that glowed with pain and sorrow. "Padmé." His voice, now working, cracked on her name. "I'm so sorry." Tears began to flow down his cheeks. Padmé shook her beautiful head slowly, and she was gone, taking the light with her, and Vader was alone with his sins.

The first sensation that returned to him was sound, the hiss and rasp of his labored breath seeming unnaturally loud after the silence of the void. The next sense was the Force, and Arden's distress penetrated his sleep fogged mind. She wasn't scared, but hurt, tired and desperate not to fall asleep. Vader rose swiftly and made his way to her chambers as the rest of his senses returned to him, and he tried to shake off the effects of the dream. As he left his rooms, he saw a storm trooper leaving Arden's room.

The trooper heard his approach and spun around. "My lord, the Admiral has requested her," he gestured towards Arden's room with his armored hand. "To meet him on the bridge, but she will not go."

"Why did you upset her?" Vader growled menacingly, glaring down at the Storm Trooper, who immediately began to reek of fear.

"I…I don't know," the man stuttered "We were just talking a…and…" Vader held up his hand.

"Stop, I will let her deal with you later. Tell the admiral we will be on the bridge soon." Relieved that his life would continue, at least for now, he turned and marched away at a rapid speed.

Arden's room stunk of paint, paint that not only covered the walls but had made its way onto the cold, grey floor. There was a haphazard pile of things in the middle of the room, couches, end tables, artwork was all clumped together. Arden sat on a filthy rag in the corner, looking at him, trying to stifle her tears. "Why aren't you asleep?" he asked "Its…" Vader looked around for a chrono, "Very early in the morning."

"It's like five ish, I wasn't tired," her real reasons for being awake where plain in her mind, defying her plans to lie to the only person she had left.

"And how long to you plan on staying awake?" Vader sighed, over tiredness was as bad as being drunk in his opinion. "You're no good to me if you can't even see straight."

"I'm fine…" Her blunt denials of the obvious truth angered him.

"No you're not," he nearly yelled and Arden leapt backwards, colliding painfully with the wall, but Vader didn't care, even as her own pain raced through his body. "You are in training to be a Sith Lord, so you better start acting like one or else…"

"Or what?" She sneered at him as she got up, "You'll kill me? I'm pretty sure you can't. You'll kick me out? Good luck, the Emperor will find me, I'm too dangerous to be a wild card. You don't know anything so just LEAVE ME ALONE!" A couch suddenly moved through the air and launched itself towards Vader, who moved out of the way just in time for it to crash to the floor.

Arden seemed to jump in surprise, she hadn't meant to do that he realized. "Arden, control yourself!" Vader snapped.

"But according to you I'm A SITH! I don't need control!" More objects began to whirl around the room, the leg of an end table hit the window with such force that a spider web of cracks appeared.

"STOP." Vader flung Arden against a wall with the Force. Her panic began to mount as she struggled to move, first the objects in the room began to move more and more quickly, then they slowed, and stopped, clattering back to the floor. Anger burned in her brilliant blue eyes, and the golden rings around her pupils grew. Slowly, he put her back down to the ground, where she immediately collapsed into a heap.

In the dead silence, he moved towards her, and knelt by her side. Exhaustion reigned supreme in her mind, slowly dominating all her thoughts. His anger still burned like a sun, but he felt empathy for her, he always would. Vader realized that he could lose sight of that for a little while, but he would always remember. She was a fatal weakness for him, just as Padmé had been, but this weakness he could not kill. Memories of his dream pounded in his skull, drowning out all else for a moment. Moving carefully, he lifted up Arden and carried her through the maze of furniture, her head lolling against his. Vader laid her on the bed, reached with his mind and made her sleep, carefully erecting barriers in her mind. She couldn't stay awake forever, and he couldn't stay to keep the dreams away, but maybe this would help.

* * *

Arden awoke with a jolt and sat bolt upright in her bed, tense and sweaty, slowly, she looked around as her heart beat lowered. The last thing she remembered was begin angry. What had they been arguing about, she couldn't quite remember. Nate. Nate was alive! Nate was here! She had argued with him too. Why was she so angry? Shaking her head to clear away the disorientation she got up and read the message on her quietly beeping comlink. Arden grabbed an armful of clothing from her frankly enormous closet and headed to the shower. She nearly dropped her robes when she saw the chaos in her main room and as she remembered what she had done. With an exasperated huff, Arden let her clothes fall to the floor in a black cascade and she raised her hands. The furniture followed her move as she arranged it just the way she wanted.

"Master?" Arden stood on the bridge, freshly washed and dressed, hood shadowing her face. "You summoned me?" Vader turned to face her, utterly impassive.

"Yes, we are going to the surface."

_Surface?_ Arden asked mentally, cocking her head to one side

_Of the planet, there's a Jedi Knight down there_. Vader answered in kind as he began to walk away from a confused looking admiral.

_Am I going to be fighting a Knight?_ Arden asked nervously, she felt very underprepared for such a thing.

_I will assist you_. She relaxed slightly, feeling relieved. Then a thought hit her. _What if I knew the Jedi? _Her reluctance began to creep back along with a gut feeling that she simply couldn't identify. But at least she would be on solid ground again for the first time since she boarded the ship two weeks ago. She would be meeting the Emperor in another two. The thought terrified her to her very core, but she shook it off. Now was not the time for misplaced nerves. Arden felt Vader looking at her and stopped her train of thought abruptly, but she couldn't stop her heart from pounding as they entered the shuttle and it began to descend. This was it, this, more than anything else was proof. Proof that she was a Sith, proof that she was finally good enough, but could she? Could she attack and kill a Jedi Knight in cold blood? Nervously, Arden realized that she was about to find out.

The planet was an uncomfortably warm one; she began to sweat almost instantaneously, the dry ground cracked beneath the soles of her leather boots, and clouds of dust rolled around her ankles. Sparse vegetation lay baking in the sun nearby as the Sith Lords strolled into the small settlement, accompanied by a squad of storm troopers. Arden was disturbed to note that Nate was among them, and she resisted the urge to turn and look at him. As soon as the residents saw them, they turned tail and ran, the mixed bag of species diving for shelter, booths with brightly striped awnings disappeared instantly, leaving behind tantalizing aromas. Fear lay thick on the air, she could nearly taste it, but she didn't fully understand. They had nothing to fear if they were not a Jedi, or harboring one. _Why are they afraid of us?_ She asked, looking up into the face of her master.

_Because they are ignorant, and both fear and hate that which they do not understand_, Vader responded, _Now reach out with your mind and try to find this Jedi and ripples that he or she leaves in the Force_. Arden nodded and closed her eyes, reaching out with her mind. Her consciousness passed over those without power, those cowering in fear in the mud huts; she searched for those without fear, those who gave off an aura, those who gave off ripples in the still pond of the Force.

She passed over the mind once, as it was well hidden from her view, but her mental powers far outstripped the young Falleen woman. "I found her." Arden's voice glowed with pride, "She's in the north district, and she shouldn't be a problem."

"Well done," she felt him smile and together they marched along, shutters slamming shut as they went.

The hut was exactly where Arden knew it would be. Stacked mud bricks stood about seven feet high. She nearly laughed at Vader's chagrin, nothing was ever tall enough for him anymore, and it was rather embarrassing to have to stoop the whole time. _I'll go in_. Arden pushed aside a rough leather flap that acted as a door and stepped into the gloom of the hovel.

_Be careful of the pheromones_. Vader called mentally.

_Don't worry, it doesn't work as well on females_. Arden called off handedly. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the dark and she saw the Falleen standing ready in the corner, Lightsaber unlit in her hand. Her face was a pale green, far paler than the standard pigmentation of a Falleen, fear exuded off her in rolling waves. Allowing her anger at the Jedi to build, Arden gave a wicked smile from under her hood and activated her sabers, their red glow only marginally improving the lighting in the room. The woman ignited her yellow Lightsaber and began to move defensively around Arden.

The young Sith reached out with her mind and assessed the other's metal shields. They were strong, breaking them would take time, time she didn't have as the Jedi attacked, Arden blocked her parry and danced backwards on the tips of her toes. Arden's mind was still working at the Falleen's as the woman began to release pheromones. Focusing her rage, she attacked both in the physical and the mental, anger giving her a clarity that she had never before known, negating any effect the pheromones might have. Responding in kind, the Knight began a flurry of strikes that were blocked with a lazy grace. Like a stone mason with a chisel, Arden hacked into the barriers, finding soft spots in her mental armor. Red sabers hummed as they hit yellow, both females danced out of the way, light and agile on their feet.

Panic and desperation flowed from her opponent, she knew that she was outmatched in every way, and yet she kept fighting. Arden reached into her black memories and her fury burned white hot, the walls of the Falleen splintered before her and she tore at the soul, ripping it apart like some rabid dog as the Jedi fell to her knees and screamed. Eyes rolled back in their sockets and skin color changed as the Falleen died, her soul's life extinguished. Behind the corpse, a baby whimpered.

Turning her yellow eyes on the child, the Sith Lord moved forward, stepping carelessly over the Falleen to the crib behind. _Do I kill it? _She asked Vader, lightsabers at its throat.

_Yes. _The wailing stopped and Arden stalked out of the hut, rage slowly dimming to a simmer, Lightsabers clipped back to her belt. _Good job. _

_Thank you._


	12. Chapter 11

Arden's emotions fled quickly as they walked back towards the shuttle. Her joy and rage becoming but ashes in the wind, left behind was a growing horror at what she had done. She had killed a child, a baby, a creature that was no threat to her, her stomach heaved and she felt like throwing up. The mother had just being doing her best to protect it; she didn't ask to be a Jedi any more than Arden had when she had come to the temple. As she stumbled in the dust, Vader caught her mental distress. He marveled at the strength of her repulsion for what she had just done. She glared up at him and looked away, trying to focus on something else entirely, but all the houses looked the same, and the dust just made her want to cough up her lungs.

Suddenly she felt eyes on her back, Nate's eyes. With the utmost care, lest he sense her, she gazed into his mind. He was confused and a little bit disturbed, currently he was wondering what had happened to that brave Jedi padawan he used to know. What had happened to turn her joy and love into rage and hatred? She stopped listening and returned to herself in time to wipe away the tears forming in her eyes. Where had that clarity gone? She hadn't hesitated to kill, she had embraced it. Where had that blood lust come from? She had destroyed a soul and two lives, she hadn't even blinked twice. These emotions where foreign to her, as she had never felt so much in her whole life as she had in these two weeks. What had happened to her?

_Stop it_. Vader interrupted her revere. _This train of thought is pointless, this is what it means to be a Sith. _

_ Why?_ Arden inquired, feeling impudent in her distress. _Why is destroying life the way of the Sith? _Vader didn't respond. _Never thought about it have you? _She forced her mind on this train of thought as opposed to letting it wander. _Why do Sith simply kill everything in their path? _Vader's annoyance built with each and every question, but still he didn't answer. Arden finally gave up her pestering as they boarded the shuttle for the ride back up to the Star Destroyer. Her heart leaped painfully in her chest as she noted that Nate chose to stay as far away from her as the confines of the shuttle allowed. He was scared of her, Arden realized with a shudder.

_Why don't you just kill that gnat already? _Vader sounded bored

_I can't._ Arden began to shield bits of her mind, parts she didn't want anyone to see, least of all herself. She felt Vader's mind rhyme with confusion as he felt himself being shut out.

_Shall I? _He left the sentence hanging, leaving her with no doubt as to what he intended.

_NO! _Arden nearly shouted aloud, Vader started with surprise. _Leave him alone, he's done nothing to you! Why do you want to destroy everything in your path? I never wanted to kill anyone, least of all him. _To her utter horror, the tears began to flow down her face, and she began to sob in earnest. Desperately, Arden tried to control her emotions, but her methods, perfected after years of study in the Temple, failed her completely. By sheer luck, the shuttle docked and the doors opened.

Arden was the first one off, practically running away from the accusing white masks of the Storm Troopers, and from Vader and his knowledge of her near every deed. He followed, but she reached her room before he reached her. She locked the door and as she crumpled to the ground, letting go of what little self-control she had managed and dissolved into tears of misery and guilt. She was most definitely a monster, how could she have been so stupid as to think that the Sith were the right path for her? She was no cold blooded killer, and yet, now she was. She had killed a baby, with that thought she ran to the 'fresher, retching into the toilet, fiery tears scalding her cheeks as Vader knocked angrily on the door. ''GO AWAY!" Arden yelled both physically and mentally, allowing her confused knot of emotions to accompany the scream. Much to her relief, he turned and walked away, his own emotions buried under hers.

She lay on the 'fresher floor crying for what felt like hours. She was repulsed by her very being. How could she have done something so despicable and wrong? Arden never wanted to move, she never wanted to see anyone again, a part of her wanted to die. But there was a part of her that longed for more. For power, for clarity of the mind, for in that moment she had felt more real and collected than she had ever felt in her entire life. That part of her mind felt a primal joy at testing itself against others, it reveled in its own strength, and it craved to feel that power once more. Arden had tried to shut it out, to make it go away, but that part of her was controlled, collected, strong, even happy, and it would not be shunted aside like some discarded toy.

A brash knock sounded at her door, startling her back to reality. It was not Vader. She ignored it, but it continued, never ending pounding for several long minutes. She covered her ears, but her mind would not be closed off so easily. The mind outside her door was an intriguing one, filled with complex emotions. With a sight she carefully picked herself off the tiled floor, dusted off her robes and looked in the mirror. Her pale face was red, the skin around her eyes puffy, and her eyes themselves were blood shot, and she looked like something out of a nightmare. Maybe it would scare whoever was at the door away, but as she opened it, she realized it was pointless. Nate stood there, arm up, hand in a fist, ready to continue knocking should she close the door in his face. She had not recognized his mind, that thought startled her. His fear of her was gone, replaced with worry for her.

With a quiet sigh, she moved aside and he marched in, as he did, she let her hair fall across her face, unwilling to let him see how very unhappy she was, but it was an exercise in futility. "You look like hell." He was as brash and bold as he had always been; time had not dulled his wit nor his bright brown eyes. Arden said nothing, but glared at him from behind a curtain of hair, nearly sticking out her tongue. He moved as if to part it, but she danced backward, out of his reach. "Aww," he complained, "I came all the way down here, the least you can do it let me see you."

"Why are you here?" she looked up at his face, hair sliding away to reveal her tear-stained visage. For the first time, Nate had the decency to look abashed.

"You saved my life, I owe you one." He looked down at his hands, large and muscled, identical to thousands, if not millions of others. Tiny white scars covered them from years of endless fighting.

"You don't owe me anything, it was my job." Arden turned and stared blankly at the wall, noting the places where paint had already chipped off the wall from her fight with Vader.

"No," Nate responded firmly, laying his and on her shoulder "It wasn't your job, it was your job to lead me and help me do my job, not save me." He grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. "Don't beat yourself up about this."

"Why shouldn't I!?" she fell into hysterics, pushing his hand away "I KILLED a BABY!"

Nate stayed calm, pragmatic, "A baby that probably would have died anyway because it's mom had just died, so really you saved it from a life of poverty."

"Wow that makes me feel so much better." Arden rolled her eyes, sarcasm dripping from her voice, she yearned to let him comfort her, but she didn't deserve peace yet, first she had to atone for what she had done to a young woman and her child. Monsters didn't deserve to rest.

* * *

Against all the odds, the Imperials hadn't found them out yet. Barriss and the rest of the Eleven where still camped out in the barracks. Her Force-controlled Imperials where completely complacent, their minds partially destroyed by the diggings of both herself and Obi-wan. They had been searching for anything that might be useful. Obi-wan had been looking for information about Roan, now their primary mission. Barriss had dug for any scrap of information on Vader, but unfortunately neither of them had met the Sith Lord, knowing him only by his shadowy reputation of brutality and utter lack of mercy. After two full searches of their minds, the consciousness of the men was nearly mush, only retaining enough brain function to do the jobs of confirming that all was well to the off-world commanders that checked in every so often.

There had been frustratingly little on Vader in the base, only that he suddenly had appeared several days after the massacre of the Jedi Knights. Little other information existed, frustratingly, Vader still remained an enigma to her. She would have to find another base, or some other way of obtaining information. Luckily, such an opportunity happed to exist. Obi-wan and Ferus had found enough information to guess where Roan was being held; Cato Nemoidia. Barriss hoped desperately that the Dark Lord had visited the home of the Nemoidian race. The longer it took, the more he killed and the stronger he got, she couldn't let him go on, free from punishment.

Ferus interrupted her reminisces, "I'm ready now." He stood waiting, as patient as ever, the perfect Jedi.

"Let's go then," Barriss spun on her heel and walked to the training room. Ferus was out of practice, and with two fairly proficient Jedi, he wanted to practice Lightsaber combat again. Once there, they ignited their sabers and turned down the power so they wouldn't be severing any limbs. Only bruises would remain from the sparring match.

She fell easily into the ready position, Lightsaber ignited, held tight in both hands. Others may have found her traditional Mirialian dress cumbersome, but she hardly noticed the weight of the thick fabric as Ferus too readied himself. He held his Lightsaber loosely in one hand, he seemed relaxed, but Barriss had learned quickly that it was just an act; he was as fast as a Nexu, and just as deadly. Some of his former strength and finesse had gone over the years, but he was still a Knight at heart, and it showed. With the utmost care they circled each other like deadly predators, testing, observing, and waiting with infinite patience.

With breath taking speed, Ferus lunged, bright green blade out stretched, she darted backwards and parried, pushing the blade away from herself. Within an instant, she leaped inside of his guard and attempted to hit his arm, only to miss as Ferus parried and disengaged, resulting in a return to the circling, both waiting for the precise moment in which to strike. When it came, Barriss jumped with the Force, well above his head. As she landed, she kicked out with one leg and caught him in the knee, sending him sprawling forwards, wind milling his arms gracelessly. Recovering from her jump, she pressed her advantage, slapping him in the back with her saber. Ferus hissed as it left its mark on the bare skin under his thin shirt.

Still on his knees, the ex-Jedi managed to leap to a standing position and whirl towards her. Then the attack began in earnest, they traded a flurry of blows, each gaining several new bruise to add to their respective collections. She managed to move in for the 'kill' several times, but he continued to evade her. That is until he over reached, trying to disable her arm, he stumbled slightly, recovered quickly, but was nearly in Barriss's arms. With ease, she gently drew her Lightsaber across his throat, and stepped back as he dramatically fell to the ground in a pretend likeness of death.

Observing his theatrics, Barriss noted that he had certainly loosened up since leaving the order. The old Ferus would never have done something so silly and carefree. Reaching down with her green-tinged hands she grasped his arms, pulling him upright once more. With a jovial smile on his face he proclaimed, "It took you a lot longer to beat me this time." She gave him a smile, combat seemed to help him forget his worries for a time, as when she looked at him next, the lightness was gone from his face and stride, determination hardening his features. "We best be going," he said "I have a briefing to run before we go. Thank you for sparing with me Master Jedi."

Barriss's eyebrows furled in confusion. He was something of an enigma to her, a puzzle to work out in her spare time. He was both parts carefree and world weary, respectful and cheeky, demure and raucous. She simply didn't understand him, but it was her mission to unlock the mystery that was Ferus Olin.


	13. Chapter 12

The shuttle took off with the usual rumbling as the rebels left Bellassa. There were twelve of them on board, six of the Eleven, the remaining two staying behind to monitor things, Barriss, Obi-wan, and four of Roan's other friends were on their way to Cato Nemoidia. Ferus had tried to go on a solo mission at first, he didn't want to risk anyone else, but nothing like that can stay a secret with two Jedi around. Both of them had bullied their way into the mission, but the Eleven had overheard and convinced Ferus that Roan was their friend too, and that they deserved to help in any way they could. Someone had leaked to Roan's other friends what was going on, so they pestered everyone in their path until they were allowed to come too.

But they were finally on their way, already Bellassa was a fading blue dot in the void of space. Barriss looked out the view port, like she always did. Space was a marvel to her, a great mystery. It was beautiful and terrible, peaceful and deadly. Stars filled the inky backdrop until there was more light than dark, great nebulas of colorful gasses and gaping black holes devouring everything in their path. She just couldn't get enough of it. They hum of the engines increased, and Barriss took one final look at the stars around Bellassa before they became streaks of light as they entered hyperspace, that mysterious "other" dimension that allowed them to cross space at a voracious rate, the engines quieted to a purr and she heard the other beginning to move around and talk in quite, earnest voices. She thought she should probably discuss their plans once more, but instead, Barriss merely watched the stars slide by the view screen.

That was, until Ferus came and sat down next to her, uncomfortably close as he tried to look out the same viewport as her. "What're you looking for?" Ferus inquired

"Nothing, I suppose," She didn't look at him, eyes still fixed on the streaks of star light. "It's just calming for me."

"Well," Ferus rose, "We're going to go over the plan one more time if you would like to join us." With a quiet sigh, Barriss tore her eyes from the rush of starlight and followed Ferus to the small, dark meeting room in the back of the ship. With ten people already inside, it was quite crowded. The six chairs in the room had been stacked in a corner, with everyone standing around the table, on which a projector stood, the map of the capital of Cato Nemoidia, Zarra slowing rotating in blue. The door hissed shut behind her and the room darkened even more, the faces of her co-conspirators glowing blue from the light of the holo-projection. "Our shuttle is going to land here," Ferus pointed to a dot of red by the space port. "It's going to be tricky because there aren't many humans on Cato Nemoidia; we need to attract as little attention as possible. I don't want any diversions or we'll have even more people lost in jail."

Ferus glared at two of Roan's friends, Mik and Sykes to deter them from a reckless course of action, and they had the decency to look abashed. He lit up another portion of the map, the prison building now glowed red with snaky lines. "There are a series of tunnels underneath the prison, mostly for sewage. However, I do expect them to be well guarded as this is a prison. Obi-wan will be first out of the tunnels; he will either kill or confuse the guards. Additionally, keep the killing to a minimum, I hope to go unnoticed for as long as possible." He stared once more at Mik and Sykes, seeming to peer into their souls. "Roan is being held as a rebel spy, and they may be torturing him for information. Once we get to the main prison control room on that floor we will need to move quick and knock out the cameras. Rilla," here he pointed to one of the Eleven with a gift for hacking, "Will find out which cell Roan is in, then either Barriss, Obi-wan or myself will open the door to his cell, then we make our escape, quick as we can. Amie, Will, Obi-wan, you three will cover us back to our escape tunnel. Mallory, Barriss and Loran will cover our rear. Our advantage is that we have three Jedi Knights; I don't think anyone will see that coming. Any questions?" Ferus clasped his hands behind his back in an annoying military fashion as he concluded their ridiculously simple plan.

Determined to wipe the smug look off his face Barriss asked "What if one of us is captured?" He hesitated, eyebrows coming together as he thought.

"We leave them," Ferus spoke very slowly as he quickly tried to think of some way it would all work out, "We'll…we'll arrange another rescue as soon as possible… better to just not get caught." Ferus was no fun to bother, Barriss pouted silently in the corner as the lights turned back on. People filled quickly out of the cramped room, seemingly eager to be more than several inches apart from each other. "Mallory," Ferus called, "Can you stay a minute, I need to ask you about something." It was something about the way that he spoke that set Barriss off. With delicate care, she poked into his mind, and there it was. He was looking for information on Darth Vader too. Her eyes wide, Barriss walked out of the room. She had an ally. Somehow she never thought that Ferus would be interested in Darth Vader, he seemed so caught up in Roan and his plight. After this was all over, Barriss thought, she would confront him and then finally make some real progress in her search for Darth Vader.

She walked back into the main room of the cramped star ship, trying with a quiet determination to find a window seat once more. Barriss had never been to Cato Nemoidia, and the first view of a new planet was always special to her. _One day_, she thought_ one day I will find a world and settle. _A part of her knew that would never happen. She was a wanderer; though she wished to put down roots, the wind always cast her adrift into a sea of stars.

* * *

The training room was quite except for the hum of lightsabers and the hiss of breath through teeth. Arden danced across the floor, sabers moving like extensions of her arms as she moved through the room with controlled fury. She hacked and slashed at invisible foes, crimson blades scything with deadly rage. Arden let the movements come to her, not daring to slow down, not daring to think. Sweat began to bead on her brow, but she ignored it along with the fire in her muscles and the ache in her lungs. To stop was to fail, to stop was to fall. Her movements became slower, less fluid as she tired, feet scuffing the smooth tile floor. Reaching inside she found new sources of rage and pain. Anger aimed mainly at herself, at her weaknesses at the things that held her back. As she drew on them, strength returned to her and she increased her speed, twisting and stabbing, ripping through the air with deadly precision

Her old strength and grace where returning to her faster than she had thought possible, the dark side energy that coursed through her veins made her feel alive. It also made her feel sick to her very stomach with guilt and grief. But stopping meant confronting the consequences of her actions, and she wasn't sure if she was ready to face that yet. Maybe it was cowardly, but she didn't really care, she had enough to deal with as it was. As she moved, still attacking her fears she noted that she was not alone, Nate. He was watching her, and emotion like wonder filling his mind. She was curious to know how long he had been there. Lighting danced from the tips of her fingers and she sent it down the length of her right lightsaber. It splattered against walls and floor, leaving black cinders, missing Nate by an uncomfortably close margin. She stopped momentarily to see if he was alright, and the trooper started walking towards her. Arden had left him in her room, trying to avoid his bright eyes and piercing questions, but that man was irascible and very hard to deter.

With a sigh she deactivated the lightsabers, strapping them once more to her belt and allowed him to approach her. "That was incredible!" He looked genuinely amazed, staring at her in awe. "I've never seen anything like it!"

"Thank you," it didn't feel incredible to her, more like hiding from her problems, but she couldn't pretend that she wasn't flattered. "But your just as good with a blaster." She had watched him many a time, he was a natural, but that wasn't surprising, he was supposed to be; he had been training for it all his life, he had been bred for it. Nate snorted, he was doubtful, he was sure that his best wouldn't even come close to her worst.

Annoyed at his self-depreciation she flicked her wrist and his blaster slid out of the holster. "Fine, we'll have a contest if you're so sure." Walking forward she pulled out one of her lightsabers, carefully engraving a target onto the wall. Vader probably wouldn't be pleased, but whatever. Withdrawing, she pulled out the blaster and aimed it carefully at the target, allowing the Force to wash through her veins and focus her vision. The bolts hit near the middle, but it was the recoil she was unprepared for, and Arden stumbled backwards, nearly falling into Nate.

He laughed and grabbed the blaster from her hands. "Nice job." She grumbled slightly and stepped back.

"I think I'll just stick to my lightsabers." Nate held his blaster casually in one hand and fired several shots, each hit the middle of the rough target with unerring accuracy.

"Too bad your sabers are shit for distance fighting," He tucked the blaster back into its holster and turned to look at her. Arden smirked.

"Wanna bet?" She drew them both, blades nearly touching the floor. Letting go of them, she used the Force to fling them directing into the center of the targets where they slid down, slicing the wall as they went. She looked over at Nate. His eyebrows were raised, shock evident on his face.

"Oh, well, we destroyed that wall." He looked nervous now, his skin was a shade or two paler and he was wringing his large hands. He could be killed for it, storm troopers where notoriously expendable.

"Don't worry," Arden recalled the lightsabers to her belt, "I'll deal with it, no problem."

He relaxed, hands falling to his hips. "You're incredible, you know that." A small smile danced across his face.

"Yah right," Arden scoffed, memories racing through her brain. She wasn't incredible, she was a monster, but his conviction in both words and mind nearly made her believe. "I'm a nightmare, not a wonder."

"No," the storm trooper frowned at her "you're not a monster. You're a person, a wonderful complicated, unique person with the will to be whatever you want." She was about to rebuttal him when he interrupted her. "Just because you killed two people doesn't make you anything less. I've killed dozens of people; does that make me a monster?"

"Well no, but you're a solder, that's your job!" He flustered her, and it was quickly getting on her nerves. "I'm…"

"You're a warrior too, so stop beating yourself up because it's just annoying." Now she was angry, he had no right tell her how she felt. He had no right to even speak to her. As she opened her mouth to pull rank and send him away, he leaned down slightly and kissed her on the lips. Shock warred with anger that warred with another emotion she didn't want to consider. He tasted like sweat and spice. His soul was somehow far more open to her, it felt like hope and strength and loneliness and power. The joy of battle, the pain of loss, the fight to find some sort of identity when thousands shared his face, his whole being was laid bare to her in that moment. She kissed him back, her arms reaching instinctively around his neck. His warm hands wrapped around her waist lifting her slightly into the air. This was a perfect moment, one she never wanted to end, because deep down she knew that his simply couldn't be, no matter how much she wanted it to.

After what felt like an eternity they simultaneously relinquished each other. Arden was at a loss of what to do next, she had never kissed anyone before, and he was unlikely to have either. He stood awkwardly, his chin level with her eyes. He was terrified, and she knew why. She could have him killed or tortured, or, his worst fear, she could reject him. Arden smiled up at him and, impulsively, hugged him, curling her head under his chin. He held her gently, although it where a dream from which he feared to wake. Her anger was gone, her fear was gone, and her disgust with herself had lessened. "Thank you" she whispered.


	14. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: Hello, I hope you are all enjoying this story, thank you so much to the people who have reviewed it, that means a lot to me. I think I have all my facts straight, but if I don't please tell me otherwise. Thank you all for sticking with me as I have never written so much of one story in my life!**

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The engines powered up, the whole ship vibrating as it dropped out of hyperspace, the stars returning to the dots that blanketed the sky. Barriss looked eagerly for the planet, and there it was. Cato Nemoidia was a blue orb with teal seas and indigo landmasses. Long wisps of clouds drifted across the surface. It was a large planet as planets go, and it looked peaceful and calm from upper orbit. The ship rattled some as they entered the atmosphere and were directed to the spaceport exactly as they had planned. On the ship, the tension was becoming palpable. She tore her eyes from the planet below and closed her eyes. The nerves were getting to her, never good for a Knight, or anyone for that matter. With a deep breath she shut down her emotions one by one, and peace began to suffuse her. It had been hard at first, shutting down her emotion likes that, especially when she had wanted to feel. Now however it was as natural as breathing.

Opening her eyes she watched as the planet swelled in her viewport, the city becoming visible, growing until it towered above them, the Nemoidians strutting around in oversized hats like so many ridiculous peacocks. Their vanity would be there downfall in time, those with pride always fell. The ship docked without a fuss, and they disembarked, trying very hard not to look suspicious. With care they made their way towards the entrance to the aqueducts. No one stopped them, although they did apparently merit some odd looks from passing citizens. The diversity on Cato Nemoidia was sadly lacking, there were a couple of other beings here and there, but never in large groups, usually mixing one on one with the Nemoidians. Luckily the entrance point to the aqueducts was out of sight of the main squares, so the odds of someone seeing them where minimized. Here crime was conducted insight of everyone, not in back alleys as the ambitious natives backstabbed each other to a higher spot in society and a bigger hat.

With a surreptitious look around, Obi-wan activated his lightsaber and quickly cut open the man hole, putting away his lightsaber as fast as possible. It was illegal to possess one now, you would get thrown in an Imperial prison, or worse if you were caught with one. The members of their group jumped quietly into the sewer system, wrinkling their noses as the pungent odor wafted upwards. Barriss was the last one in, using the Force to pull the man-hole cover back into place. It was as horrific as she had anticipated down in the sewage system, and she resisted the desire to vomit up her breakfast. The tunnel was taller than she expected as she lit her glow rod, trying very hard to ignore what she was up to her knees in. It was durasteel tube, about three times her height, and rusty. Plainly this area did not often see inspections.

They waded through the muck for what felt like an eternity, Barriss mourning her now ruined dress and trying not to moan about the smell. Then, there it was, a slender silver maintenance ladder. It was folded up, but that was no problem for the Jedi. With a wave of her hand, Barriss pulled the ladder down as smoothly and quietly as she could. Obi-wan was halfway up before it entered the sewage with a disgusting slurping sound. Light poured down onto their grimy faces as he Forced open the service hatch. There was a hum of a lightsaber and the older Jedi stuck his head back through the hatch. "Let's go!" There was a mad scramble for the ladder as everyone desperately tried to escape the sewage.

Inside, the prison was clean and brightly lit, cruel, plain durasteel sheets lined the walls, floor and ceiling. The dead Nemoidian guards were sprawled onto the floor, necks twisted to an awkward angle, hands flung from half drawn blasters. She knew that their deaths had been necessary, but it was still a waste of life. Barriss kept a mental eye out for security cameras or other security apparatuses as they began to move at a swift walk, blasters cocked, lightsabers held with fingers on the triggers. The tunnels seemed to stretch along indefinitely, Ferus leading the way, following an invisible path that only his mind knew. Barriss suddenly realized that if he was captured it would be up to her and Obi-wan to get them out, she started memorizing their path immediately.

The hardest part was ignoring the cries of the other inmates; they shook the bars with what strength remained in their pathetically thin arms and yelled in croaky voices. They tried to grab at the party's clothing and gave grim premonitions. It was the children that really got to Barriss though; they didn't cry or scream, only looked with huge eyes, equal parts hope and fear. Their dirty, pale faces staring right up into, her very soul; after a while she could only look dead ahead for fear of doing something drastic. Tears were beading in her eyes when they finally reached the control room; she didn't hesitate, but began crushing the myriad security cameras with the aid of the Force. Rilla found her way to the terminal and began to type at a pace Barriss didn't think was possible.

Once all the cameras had been destroyed and alarms turned off, the rescuers formed a protective circle around the computer terminal, all tense with anticipation. Finally, Rilla pointed down one of the many tunnels that surrounded the octagonal room. "Cell 491" Ferus practically ran in the aforementioned direction, his feet slipping and sliding on the smooth floor. Barriss allowed herself a small smile; he was so devoted to his friends, more so than he had when he had been a Jedi. She liked that about him. The blonde ex-Jedi stopped in front of a door waved his hand and disappeared from view. He returned moments later, the slumped form of Roan hanging unconscious over his shoulder.

"Let's go!" Ferus exclaimed, and in a rush they all assumed their positions around him, moving en masse back in the direction they had come from. They had made it part way down the hall when a door behind them opened, accompanied by unintelligible yelled and blaster fire. Several people swore, but Barriss activated her lightsaber and began to deflect all the blaster bolts that she could. Beside her, Mallory started shooting. There were about twenty or so Nemoidians, but more were probably on their way.

"We have to keep moving!" Barriss shouted over the blaster fire, backing up away from the angry prison guards. Someone seemed to hear her, because their fear-frozen group began to move, increasing speed as they went; terror was pungent in the air as the backed away from the wardens. She did her best to defect all the bolts, but inevitably some snuck through. She hoped desperately that no one was hit, but couldn't spare a second to look back and check on how Ferus was doing. A blaster bolt hissed past the end of her lightsaber and she heard a startled yelp, guilt raced through her. Making up her mind in a single second, she began to run towards their attackers, using the Force to accelerate her speed so she was just a blur to everyone else.

In that fashion she reached the prison guards in seconds and began cutting them down without pretense. It had all been going so well, they couldn't fail now, but the guards just kept on coming, she could feel herself weakening, and she didn't have a moment to see if her friends were safely out of harm's way. Barriss twisted her saber, the blade impaling a Nemoidian through the stomach, not pausing; she ripped it out, cutting the guard in half and blocking half a dozen blaster bolts in the same second. She was running out of energy and options. They had surrounded her completely; she had hardly any room to maneuver, and she constantly had to be on the lookout for bodies, lest she tripped. If she fell, she knew she would die. If she slowed down, she would die. No matter what she did, she would probably die.

As Barriss Offee danced with death, she remembered the prisoners, desperate in their cells. She could faintly hear them even now. Their raucous cries pierced through the sounds of blasters, and Barriss realized what she could do. Many would die, but in her opinion it was better to die than to be a prisoner, and it would distract from their own escape. Maybe some of the prisoners would even get away. Concentrating her last reserves of energy, she focused the Force on the cell doors, keeping only half a mind on her attackers. With a push, the doors to all the cells in the bay, several hundred at least, burst open, and inmates came pouring into the corridors.

Much to her relief, the Nemoidians froze, utterly unprepared for the rush of angry prisoners. Barriss acted on their unpreparedness and managed to kill three of the remaining eighteen guards before they reacted to the crisis on their hands. One of them called it in on a com-link and the other fourteen opened fire. Barriss sprang into action once more, determined to make use of her sudden second wind. With a tug of the Force, the blasters of the fallen found their way into the hands of the prisoners in the front. She faced her back to the convicts and was about to continue to assist them in a valiant dash to freedom when she remembered that it wasn't her mission to save them. But, it was the Jedi thing to do. Another conflict now waged inside her, her friends where currently, hopefully escaping, but they might have run into trouble. Here, there were many wrongfully accused people who were dying in these cells. These people now had a chance for freedom, but they needed a leader.

A blaster bolt that hissed by the side of her face ended her train of thought. She had to choose, and quickly. She had to help her friends, they were her responsibility. She closed down her emotions towards the freed prisoners and began to push through them. It was hard work. She heard incoherent cries directed at her, only a few rang clear. "Where are you going?" "Why have you freed us?" "Aren't you going to stay and help?" She ignored them all, trying to push through with a minimum of shoving, she didn't want to hurt these fragile people. About mid-way through the group, she found a child that had fallen. A young Twi'lek with her leg twisted at an awkward angle. Her heart softened, and on impulse she lifted it up and carried the purple-skinned alien with her.

The hall ways past the freed prisoners were empty of anyone, but Barriss continued to run anyway. She reached out with her minds, searching for her friends unique minds that stood out from the thousands of prisoners. She found them, Ferus and Obi-wan glowed brightly with the Force, and the others were but familiar shadows. They were nearing the entrance to the sewage system; they were also worried for her. Information gathered, she returned her focus to the present. The Twi'lek girl was shivering in her arms; Barriss didn't have to try to feel the pain in the child's broken leg. "It's okay," Barriss said softly, "I'm not going to hurt you." The child just looked up with wide eyes, probably too young to have learned Basic. "I'm a Jedi Knight." She thought that the word 'Jedi' was fairly standard across the galaxy, and was rewarded when the Twi'lek's eyes widened and she began to jabber away, her lekku twitching subtly. The girl's talk slowed as Barriss continued to jog slowly towards her coconspirators.

She looked down again as the girl tugged her sleeve. With a tiny lavender finger, she gestured at herself. "Seel'aven," then the Twi'lek pointed at her and said what she assumed was 'and your name?'

"Barriss Offee," she smiled down at the child, knowing she could never have one of her own. It was inevitable that she would become too attached to it.

"Barris'soffee," Seel'aven repeated, changing the name to her native tongue of Ryl. The Jedi smiled as she rounded yet another corner, and there they were. Obi-wan was removing the door with the Force. So it was Ferus that noticed her first, Roan still hanging over his shoulder in a fireman's hold.

"Barriss!" The relief was evident in his voice and on his face, his face broke into a grin which faded slightly when he saw the child in her arms. "What…happened?"

"I, um, I set a bunch of prisoners free to help me overwhelm the guards." She felt like she was being interrogated. He had no right to do that to her, in fact there wasn't time. "We don't have time for this," she snapped, perhaps a bit harshly. Ferus looked slightly taken aback by her tone, and she felt a bit guilty, but ignored the sensation as the metal door dropped to the floor with a tremendous clang. Barriss was the last down, but as she looked down, the child did too. Seel'aven whimpered, clinging ever tighter to her robes. Barriss's plans to use the Force to lower the child disappeared. She never wanted to intentionally terrify a child. As the alarms sounded, louder than ever, she shifted the child to her back. "It will be alright," with a gentle application of the Force, she soothed the child. Together the descended the ladder, the rungs clanging far louder than was comfortable. Her feet splashed into the water and she lifted her hands. The Force surged through her exhausted body and she knew that she had nothing left to give. Ferus sloshed up beside her and helped lift the door back into place. As it slammed into place, he lifted the girl off Barriss's back and held her close, Roan having been given to his friends to carry.

Together the waded through the dark and the sewage, the sounds of the others fading as they walked. Barriss saw her chance, "I know you're looking for Vader." He started, Seel'aven yelped at the unexpected movement.

"Why would you think that?" His voice was quiet, but harsh at the same time. She didn't really want him to know that she had been peeking in his mind, his trust was important to her.

"Lucky guess, I am too."

"Why?" Images raced through her brain, both brutal memories and horrific imaginings. Luminara lying on green grass, eyes wide and unseeing, tattoos stark against her bloodless face. She felt the tears begin to cluster in her eyes and she forced her emotions back down into the darkest part of her.

"Because he destroyed everything I, no, everything the Jedi stood for, and I can't let him get away with it." The tears sounded in her voice despite her efforts. Imagined horrors of thousands of Jedi deaths darted through her mind with nauseating clarity.

"Then I will help you," Ferus said voice thick with emotion. "We will make him pay."


	15. Chapter 14

Arden was not one for lazy days lying in bed; she had not been blessed with the beautiful, slow transitions between sleeping and waking. When Arden awoke, it was abrupt; it was suddenly, and all at once. Arden was the type of person who leaps out of bed in the morning, glad to get any rest at all. So it was the most marvelous of wonders to her when she awoke slowly, eyes blinking open sleepily, stretching tense muscles with the languid movements of a feline. It was an equal surprise when her eyes finally computed the bulk that was directly in front of them.

Nate's face was not but a few inches from her own, eyes still tightly closed, his warm breath buffeting against her forehead. He looked so young in sleep, as though some benevolent god had come and wiped away his cares with a cloth woven from dreams. In Arden's not so professional opinion, he looked all of twelve years old in sleep. His gangly arm was flung over her waist, gently pinning her to his side. The tips of his fingers skimmed against the small of her back, warm and rough against her bare skin, which still prickled at his touch. Her own limbs were impossibly tangled with his. Loathe to stir and wake him, she simply stared instead.

He had millions, if not billions, of identical brothers spread thin across the galaxy, but in that beautiful, lazy moment, he was utterly unique. From the soft lines on his forehead to the stubble on his chin, he was different. The scars down his outsized biceps marked him as an individual, as did the individual eyelashes that where black against his bronze skin. No other clone could possibly be as perfect as they one lying next to her on her oversized bed. But it was not just his appearance that drew her to him, his very soul did to. Most people, even non-Force sensitives had some measure of walls around their mind, but not Nate. Despite his early revulsion to her, he seemed willing to give her another chance, and his subconscious brain had lowered the walls. As a result, she could see everything that he was, almost as deeply as she could with Vader. In respect of fairness, she cautiously lowered her own walls, allowing their souls to intertwine, as unguarded souls do.

Seeing the time on a chrono over his shoulder, she gave a quiet sigh. With more gentleness that she had even shown in her life before, she untangled an arm and traced her pale fingers across his jaw; her nails making a soft noise as the met the beginnings of a beard. At the same time, she delicately brushed against his mind, pulling him from sleep as carefully as a mother untangling a child from a blanket. Nate too awoke slowly, his eyes focusing on her, hand tightening against her spine. He gave her a sweet smile, and Arden closed the short distance between them. Her lips lingering on his, disregarding his frankly appalling morning breath, they pulled apart gingerly, his fingers running softly through her hair. "Good morning," Nate's voice was soft and husky, dark brown eyes refusing to look anywhere but her face. With a wide smile, she pressed her head up against his chest, listening to the slow, steady breath of his heart, rejoicing in the miracle of life.

With harsh abruptness she sat up, holding blankets to her bare chest, shattering the delicate peace of the morning. The door hissed open a moment later and Vader stalked in with thunderclouds in his mind. Nate started moving the instant the door began to open, and he was half dressed before Vader turned his attention on the trooper. Her master's anger crimson in her mind, she moved in front of Nate, blankets draped around her like some ancient deity. Arden's fury, created by his own seemed to hold the dark lord at bay until her panicking soldier departed. They were like two Titians, enormous in their power, one defending mortals and one hell bent on destruction. However, they were immobilized for fear of the fallout, for fear of hurting each other. As Nate departed, they unfroze, tension crackling in the air.

"You are a foolish child," Vader's voice was brittle as ice, rage as hot as a sun, if she hadn't been able to read his mind, it would have been a terrifying sight to behold. The inside of his mind to another story, only to be read by her, pain overwhelmed it, along with the suffering of one who has lost everything he once hoped to save. Her affection of the stormtrooper cut his to the core, reminding him of those that he had held most dear. She was all he had left of his old life, his world of ashes and he would not see her hurt and broken again. Seeing this, Arden swallowed her pride and angry retorts, lowering her head. She was upset in her own right that he didn't trust her not to repeat his past, upset that she was to be protected like a precious artifact, but she understood and respected his point of view. Thus, she was irrationally angry, she was forced to understand and accept things when she was wanted to rage and scream like a hurricane, but she controlled her rage, it would not help either of them.

"Yes master," her voice was soft and contrite, a model pupil, but her mind told yet another tale. _I'm a big girl now, I can look after myself, and no one, least of all you will to put a leash on me again. _

_ You do not know what you're getting into. _The discontinuities between what was said aloud and what was understood protected their bond from everyone, even Obi-wan. Anakin had decided long ago that no one could know, it was too dangerous for them. There was too much emotion between them, they were compromised and that could not stand in the Order. The Jedi would try and ruin it, as they did everything they didn't understand. Vader swept from her chambers, rage not mitigated in the slightest, leaving her with only: _You are needed on the bridge. _

As the tip of his cloak disappeared from view she blurted out, _I know everything. _Arden hated not having the last word in anything, she hated being dismissed so off handedly, and she had a need for the shock and awe value of her words, the statement did its gob. The sound of Vader's automated breathing increased as he returned to the room and she felt a twinge of satisfaction, she would get the last word after all. It was not, perhaps her topic of choice, her ultimate preference being to inform Vader that he was being an ass and that he'd better leave Nate alone, or else. However, in his volatile mood, she felt that would be an unwise choice. So her subconscious had chosen this instead, she had been meaning to tell him anyway.

"What do you mean?" Vader was both parts intrigued and worried; in fact he had started to wonder exactly how much she knew. Now that she had regained his attention, Arden hardly knew where to start; this was a delicate topic that was very hard to explain. Sensing her reluctance, he supplied, "You were under Force suppressants the whole time, how could you see anything?" in response, she rolled up her left sleeve revealing burns that covered her upper arm in a random pattern of elevated blotches.

"Recognize these?" She inquired, know full well that he did, the perfectly mirrored his own. Shock radiated through his mind and gloved metal fingers closed around her wrist, pulling it gently towards them.

"How is this possible?" Arden shrugged, pulling her arm back, the sleeve falling into place. "they weren't half as bad as yours. They fixed the ones on my face, no one wants an ugly slave girl." She rubbed her arm self-consciously, fingers brushing over the small lumps that were her burns. "I, well, what happened was that, I forgot that I was myself, I was you, or more I was in your mind instead of mine."

"I'm sorry, that must have been awful." He had never been the most eloquent of people, but his remorse that she had to suffer likewise was sincere. "How long did it…last for?"

"It wasn't your fault." In response to his query, she showed images of Mace Windu falling from an impossibly tall building and then a dark room, broken medical tools littering the floor like so many scattered carcasses.

"Oh," was his only response, leaving a void of silence in the after math of her revelations. Sensing that the moment was over and her faux pas forgiven, at least for a moment, Arden left, leaving Vader to his thoughts.

"I'll go report to the bridge now," her voice was hushed as she departed, not wanting to stir him from his revere.

_Had this ever happened before? _His mental voice seemed somewhat muted as he processed the new information and what it meant for them both.

_Yes,_ she paused in the annex, _when your mother died. _She left the room, door hissing shut behind her, leaving Vader with his demons

As she approached the bridge, cape billowing behind her, she realized that something was going on. Troopers clattered past, and aides appeared looking haggard as they sped away, clutching as desperately to their clip boards as drowning men do to life preservers. "What's the situation Admiral Prittick?" As soon as he saw her, the contempt entered his mind, it was minimized from their last encounter, but it was not enough.

"This planet is rejecting Imperial rule, we are here to make sure that they submit, however they had managed to amass a sizable fleet." Arden removed her gaze from the sharp-featured visage of the Admiral and returned it to the enormous view port.

"The Force does not work on command," Arden answered the question he hadn't asked, trying to keep her voice as cool and proud as she possibly could. What he had wanted was another miracle; however she was not ready to take someone's mind with the express purpose of killing them, it had to many repercussions for her. At her pronouncement the Admiral had the decency to look started and abashed, maybe she was finally getting somewhere with him and his dislike of her gender.

"I,I don't know what you mean." She ignored him allowing her rage to simmer. The viewport was once more covered in the red and green lights of blaster fire and the orange explosions of ships. This planet seemed better prepared for the attack than the previous world. The fighters, mostly old clone war relics, were actually arrayed in some sort of formation, whilst several heavy cruisers were attempting to create a perimeter around their Star Destroyer. The TIE fighters were causing the real damage, precise military formations wreaking havoc on enemy ranks. They were taking some losses though, especially on the left flank. It seemed that the rebels on that side had a notion of what they were doing.

Arden felt useless; all she could do was watch, until she came across an idea. Not hesitating, she reached out her mind, grabbing the consciousness of a squad of TIE fighters; she controlled the bodies of the pilots and by extension, she ships. Their souls now linked together by her own she could do something, and so long as they didn't die, she didn't see any way it could affect her. Her own vision of a distant fight was replaced by the chaos of a space battle, the twelve visions seamlessly melded into one. She moved their formation around a wreck, squeezing their fingers on the trigger as she sensed the approach of an enemy squad. The pilots under her command began to struggle as they realized they were no longer in control. She drew on her anger, crushing their minds and telling them that she was their commander. To her relief, they reduced their struggles, giving in to her leadership, it would have been impossible to hold all twelve minds for so long if they kept up the fight. The Imperial Academy had taught them well. The rebel ships disintegrated as her well timed bolts hit them, the resistance subsiding as they all noted her superiority.

Arden flew her ships though the fire ball of rebels and screamed past a dog fight, looping back to help with nauseating speeds. She was suddenly aware of how fragile the craft were, with no shields or hyperdrive, they were practically held together by will power alone. In her opinion, these pilots were worth a bit more than that; each pilot had spent years training for this duty only to be blown up by the slightest hit. They were all incredibly proud of their ability to survive to fly their craft each and every day. Arden opened fire once again on the rebel ships, saving a handful of fighters from fiery deaths.

Chatter was coming in over their rudimentary com systems, commanding them to join in an assault run on one of the bulk cruisers. Complying, she took the requisite information on formation from the minds of her pilots and fell into formation, creating a full attack wing. As they approached their target, swarms of rebel ships began to attack like a hoard of angry wasps. Arden's ships moved in perfect synchronous, destroying the ships with ease. Despite her best efforts however, one of her fighters was hit. She grudgingly allowed him some autonomy, ordering him to fix the situation, but it was hopeless. One of the stabilizers had broken off, and how smoke was beginning to fill the tight cockpit. Arden released his mind completely, pushing him as he threatened to hit one of her remaining ships. Her mental command enforced by his own fear, the pilot limped his ship back to the Star Destroyer for repairs.

As the cruiser approached, ever swelling in her view ports, she grabbed the mind of another pilot, pulling him into the fold of her hive mind. Her twelve pilots back in place, Arden's attentions focused on analyzing the cruiser, looking for weak spots. The attack wing was finally in range, and rebels opened fire. Arden had already moved her ships out of the way, saving them from fiery destruction. The TIE fighters regrouped, returning the fire, the enemy shields absorbing the barrage of laser fire. The one flaw with ray shields was that they had to be lowered in order to fire, leaving the ship venerable to attack for a brief space of time, and Arden was ready. Her shots reached the ship right on time, leaving several fireballs blazing on the hull of the cruiser.

Ahead of her, at the front of the formation, she spotted a different looking TIE fighter, the only unique model she had seen thus far. Upon closer mental inspection, she realized it was none other than Darth Vader leading the attack. Arden was annoyed, why was she sequestered on the bridge while he got to lead dangerous assaults? It wasn't like she was too important to risk so casually. Her musings were suddenly diverted by an assault of laser fire, as she hadn't been paying attention; she had to violently pull her fighter away, nearly causing another accident in the process. This act however, caught Vader's attention. _Arden, what are you doing? _He seemed confused, but she had no time to analyze his feelings

_Helping. _Was her blunt response, _I'm useless on the bridge, now is not the time for a safety briefing._ That seemed to be enough to prevent any lectures. Her pilots were at the front of the pack, now just several hundred meters from the enormous cruiser. Vader's voice came in over the comms.

"Concentrate fire on the aft shield generators." Arden looped around, giving her a longer approach as she opened fire. A hailstorm of bolts famed into the side of the ship, overwhelming the already crippled shields. In a fiery burst that nearly destroyed her ships, the cruiser exploded, Arden simultaneously feeling the loss of many lives through the Force. The deaths of many used to hit her like a punch in the stomach; now however, it hardly affected her at all, if anything, she felt stronger. Slightly unnerved by the realization, she moved with the attack with to the next of the cruisers. This was the second last one, the remainder having been destroyed while she wasn't paying attention.

One the bulk cruisers were destroyed and the rebels routed, she released her ships, watching as the pilots regained independent control. They felt deeply violated, but she didn't really care, just satisfied that she had been able to do something either than observe from the bridge. She had experienced flashed of their lives, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. With a gasp, she returned to her own body. Arden found her hands gripping to the rail so tightly that they were white, from the corner of her eye; she could see the Admiral staring at her, a confused and greedy expression stamped on to his face.

With a shudder that ran through her whole body she straightened, whirling around so that she faced Prittick. Deftly, she arranged her features, giving herself a sneering grin and slightly raised eyebrows, she remarked in her most haughty voice, "Did you have something you wish to report Admiral?" She was rewarded as he leaped backwards, his normally composed featured twisted into shock, and perhaps something like fear. She smiled wider at the thought, enjoying the state of a nervous commander.

"No ma'am, I was just concerned about your, um, state." Annoyingly, he managed to swallow his emotions and reassert the dominance that he felt over her. Sighing internally, she spun around, sensing her master's approach. She would really have to do something about that man.


	16. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: Sorry the update is late, I didn't have internet yesterday. Also, I looked back on my writing, and saw a lot of things I didn't like, and thusly I am revising earlier chapters so everything makes more sense. It seems that this is what happens when you don't plan ahead! Oh well, thanks for reading, and enjoy! **

* * *

**Chapter 16**

The Twi'lek child clung desperately to the heavy fabric of Barriss' dress, her slight weight still heavy in her arms. The quiet sloshing of many feet through water was the only sound to be heard in the stillness of the aqueduct. The rough fabric of the prison garments scratched against her arm where the sleeve had rolled up, distracting her slightly from the sensation of the stagnant water rushing around her freezing legs. There was little light to illuminate their way in the mire, two less glow rods than when they had walked this way before. Barriss had taken Seel'aven back shortly after descending the ladder, feeling bad for giving her responsibility away to Ferus when he had been carrying the unconscious Roan for a considerable time. Besides, the girl was scared, hurt and alone, and to her, Barriss was the only one she could trust.

Their pace through the sewer system was slow, their attempts to be quiet outweighing the need for speed, but then in the distance, the heard an alien yell. With a sinking feeling in her gut, she remembered that she hadn't put the ladder back up, as the last one down; it had been up to her. At the sudden sound, their group had begun to move more quickly, the sounds of frantic splashing increasing as the clanging of boots on metal rungs resounded in the dank tunnel. Glow rods moved in a jerky fashion, eyes searching with increasing desperation for the ladder that would lead them to the surface. That was their only hope now, their only goal; they weren't out of this yet. Seel'aven began to shudder as she heard the sounds of their pursuers, burying her head in Barriss' chest.

The sounds of heavy breathing rattled in her ears, and she desperately wished that her lungs were substantially larger; her labored breaths sounded deafening despite the increased noise from many bodies wading through water. She tried to slow her breathing and turn down the volume, but the effort required to run through knee-deep water whilst a child was incredible. All she could do was think about escape, and search in the shaky nimbus of light for a ladder that may well have been retracted when they alarm sounded, or destroyed as the guards realized their plan.

In the end, she ran past the ladder. Luckily for her, Ferus noticed and gave a hoarse little cry, Barriss spun around in a jerky fashion, causing the lekku of her passenger to slap across her chest. With all of her alarmingly flagging strength, she moved the child to her back, wrapping warms, slender around her neck. She looked back, waiting for the others to descend, but she saw only a black void, empty of their pursuers. Somehow, the empty tunnel didn't help the pounding of her heart that was currently resting somewhere in her throat. The rungs of the ladder seemed far more slippery than before the climb itself felt an eternity long as Barriss stumbled up the ladder, feet misjudging step after step. A door opening into fading sunlight, and dark silhouettes danced through the hole of light and disappeared. The fresh air reached her as Barriss made her way up the final rungs; her fiery lunge gave a gasp of relief that turned to horror as a bright red blaster bolt sizzled but inches below her feet.

She tried to speed up, but her tired body wailed in the process, like a droid in desperate need of an oil bath. Exhaustion made her bones shriek in protest as she scrabbled up the final rungs into a beautiful Cato Nemoidian evening. Her eyes blinked and watered as they adjusted to the soft light of a sunset, such a contrast from the inky blackness of the tunnels below or the harsh glare of the prison lights. Then the party began to run, but Barriss could only hobble, her body furiously rejecting the commands from her brain. Her chest felt as though it were on fire, the child that had shifted back to her arms seemed to weight as much as a small moon. As it was, Barriss hardly noticed the alarms that were ringing out, echoing into the now empty squares and palisades that they darted through, like so many furtive animals of prey. Barriss tried to call upon the Force once more, to give herself one final burst of speed, but it was unforthcoming. It was all she could do to keep shuffling along when all that she wanted to do was fall upon the cool paving tiles beneath her feet and sleep for the next thousand years.

By some miracle of the Force, Obi-wan materialized beside her. With care he lifted Seel'aven from her and sped ahead, not nearly as tired as she, through sweat dripped down his brow. She felt all of a million pounds lighter, she was cooler too, and her aching arms rejoiced from the removal of the weight, she was too tired to even care that the child was her problem. She could only force her body into a jog, but she no longer felt as though she where about to collapse. Hot sweat stung her eyes and she impatiently swept it away with an equally sweaty hand. There was no doubt in her mind that this dress would need to be burned in the fires of Corillean Hell. It was heavy with unknown liquids from the sewer, slapping damply against her legs, reeking of things best not thought of, its only current use was as a distraction from the agonizing pain of running.

The rescuers rounded a bend and Barriss lost sight of them for several seconds, until she too turned the corner and saw their ship, still waiting. She spared to time to wonder at the miraculously unguarded ship, but hurried as fast as she could up the ramp and into the relative safety of the shuttle. The pilots took off as soon as she was in, not even waiting for the ramp to fully close. They weren't out of danger yet, but there was nothing more for Barriss to do either than to fall gladly into one of the heavily padded seats and lean her head against a transparisteel view port. Seel'aven was placed beside her; the little Twi'lek curled up into a ball, the weight of her head comfortingly solid on Barriss' side. The relative safety of the ship coupled with her crippling exhaustion had her eyes drooping in moments.

She was startled into awareness by Seel'aven studiously poking her in the arm with an expression of supreme concentration etched onto her tiny face. Somehow, Barriss felt even more tired than she had before she had fallen into sleep. She stretched her aching back, rubbing the kink her neck and yawning. Looking up, she caught Ferus' eye. "What's going on?"

"We're just about to land on Bellassa, you managed to sleep through everything." He sounded more amused than he should

"Why are you so happy? What did I miss?" She was perturbed, had she been needed? Why had no one woken her?

"Oh, nothing, we got away fairy easily, considering you've been asleep for the better part of two hours, we had to take a detour to lose our shadow." His overly airy voice did nothing to dissuade her, "as to why I'm happy, you have many interesting faces in sleep, that's all." She could feel her face turn, what was probably, a lurid shade of red.

"Thank you," she forced as much sarcasm into those two words as possible and turned to her new responsibility, who sat trembling on the seat beside her. The girl had been very brave, hardly even crying about her broken leg. Barriss now lifted her out of the seat, cradling the purple alien close to her chest. The ramp lowered and she strolled off, breathing in the warm evening air of Bellassa, the scents of a million flowers drifting through the air of the resort world. Seel'aven's eyes widened as she took in the beautiful tropical scenery, jabbering away in Ryl, seeming completely at ease with her new environment.

Her Twi'lek stopped talking as she recognized the Imperial base, grey eyes looking up at her with nervousness and suspicion, but relaxed as the entered and she saw no sign of white-clad storm troopers. Barriss took her immediately to the medical center along with Roan and Ferus. After depositing their patients, the duo slowly started walking back to the barracks with a gait similar to that of the very drunk. In the awkward silence that followed them, Barriss' sleep deprived mind fumbled for something to say, in the end coming up with: "How's Roan?"

"Uh, well, he's pretty beat up, but I think he'll be just fine." Ferus belatedly covered his hand to his mouth as he yawed; Barriss braced herself for more awkward silence, but was removed to the need when Ferus asked, "Why did you go back?" She looked over at him to find him staring at her, an expression like worry tracing the contours of his face.

"You needed time, I saw an opportunity and I took it."

"Barriss, you can't afford to take risks like that!" She started, he seemed far angrier than she thought he had any right to be. "We need you alive! There are only so many Jedi left!' Barriss gave a sigh of exasperation and rubbed her eyes.

"What kind of a Jedi would I be if I let the people I care about die?" She carefully controlled her emotions, behaving as a proper Jedi even if he wasn't, why was he brining this up now anyway?

"Well," he was flustered now, "just, just be more careful from now on, we can't afford to lose you."

"Okay Ferus," she said quiets as they reached the barracks, so tired they stumbled into each other until they fell into their respective beds, already fast asleep.

* * *

Vader stalked towards the bridge, mind several thousand light years away. He was at a loss as to what he should do with Arden. Arden and her ridiculous attachment, to a storm trooper of all people! He should have killed the man when he had a chance in that shuttle, but she was too protective of him now. Her emotions were a distraction, worse; they were a danger to them both. She had to be punished, or at least deterred, but how? _Love, _he mused_, is nothing but pain; it is nothing but a simple-minded distraction from reality. Only a fool would choose to love. _He ignored the little voice that said: _if what you say is true, than you are the biggest fool of them all. _Culling the voice, he filled his mind with other thoughts. Arden wasn't in love yet, but if she was allowed to continue cavorting with a clone, who knew what would happen. He arrived at the bridge, from the far end, he saw Arden spin around and he stopped thinking about how he was going to deal with her. Her face lit up as she saw him, and he was hit with the realization that she was the first person to smile at him in three long years, and was likely the only person who would ever smile at him again.

As Vader stalked up to her and the Admiral, he brushed his mind against Arden's, like a hand shake or greeting, a ritual created long ago, by a boy known as Anakin. He looked over to the admiral in distaste, wondering if he could kill the man that reported all his doings to the Emperor without retribution. He was still pushing the limits of what he was allowed to do without pissing off his master too much. Several lieutenants and captains had died for their stupidity already, but he had yet to kill an admiral for being an idiot, perhaps it was time. Arden smiled at his thought.

_If you're going to kill him, I want in. He annoys me to no end. _He looked down at her and she gave a wicked little grin.

_You and me both. _Darth Vader listened to her mental laugh as he turned his attention back to the admiral. An Admiral who was managing to contain the expressions of perplexed, frustrated and petulant all in his arrogant face. "How many ships did we lose Admiral?" Vader made sure his mechanical voice left no room for flippancy from Prittick.

"Thirty seven, my lord, additionally, the Emperor wishes to speak with you both." The admiral flashed a glare at Arden, for what, he didn't care to know. Vader swept from the bridge without a word, Arden as his silent shadow. He sensed the fear growing inside her gut like a thousand worms. Her breathing accelerated as the moved down grey halls towards the room that had been set aside for naught but conversations with the Emperor himself. Vader understood her fear, but it was something of a danger to feel anything at all in the presence of Darth Sidous. He told her as much, and observed as she wrangled with her fear, banishing temporarily from her mind, replacing it with the controlled anger that she had come to know so well in the three weeks since he had found her again.

The room was cool and dark, décor as plain and nondescript as the rest of the Star Destroyer. The only unique thing in this room was a raised circular platform on which he kneeled, white lights outlining the disk. Arden followed his lead, kneeling on the durasteel floor slightly behind and beside him. Without warning, the magnified face of Emperor Palpatine rippled into view. He felt Arden's start of surprise, completely unprepared for the twenty times larger-than-normal head, and not an attractive head at that. She recovered almost instantly, returning to her subservient position. "So this is your so-called apprentice." Sidious' voice radiated with a power so strong it was a near-physical sensation.

"Yes, my master." _Stand up, _Vader instructed, _get beside me. _He controlled his nerves as she did as she was bid, worried for the both of them. If he disliked or distrusted her, she would probably die, and then what would be left of him. Carefully, he retreated from her mind as much as possible; his intuition telling him that Palpatine would dislike the link profusely. However, he still felt as Darth Sidous' could gaze raked her from head to toe, seeming to see all her flaws and skills in nothing but a glance. With callous indiscretion for the fragility of the mind, the Emperor plowed into her soul. Arden's mental walls involuntarily slammed into place, temporarily repulsing the Emperor, her pain and shock raining supreme. Vader shouted internally, _LET HIM IN!_ His master's rage was already nearing a boil; it wouldn't take much for him to snap. Arden lowered the walls, bracing herself for the torture she was about to endure. She shut down her emotions, one by one with an ease of practice from the tortures she had endured during the Clone Wars. However, this was different, this was intensely personal. Vader could only observe as Arden's life flashed in front of her eyes. Her physical body crumbled to the ground as her mind was ruthlessly invaded and probed. Scenes of torture and suffering darted unwillingly across Vader's mind images of times spent together, memories of the Jedi Temple, of children playing with lightsabers made themselves known in the optic sensors of Vader's mind.

After what felt like an eternity, the Emperor withdrew and Arden picked herself up off the ground, her slender frame quivering from the force of the assault in the only sanctuary she had. The apprentice withdrew to her position behind Vader, possibly for the illusion of safety, though he couldn't protect her from the monster before them. "I am surprised you did not mention her to me before." The Emperor said, his voice radiating menace.

"I did not deem it relent, I am sorry my master." The tension in the air was nearly a solid presence. Darth Sidous chose not to respond, instead, he deigned to stare at the two Sith for an uncomfortably long time.

"Bring her before me now," he finally said, Arden did her best to control her fear, but her heart rate accelerated despite her efforts. As Vader was about to respond, the transmission ended and he spun around to face Arden instead. She was about as white as a ghost, her trembling hands twisted around and around together.

"I think I'm going to be sick," she whispered, untangling her hands and covering her face with them.

"I will inform the Admiral of our destination." He had no words with which to comfort her, no thoughts to calm her, so he left her without another word.

The admiral seemed too smug when Vader told him that they were going to Coruscant. That man was definitely going to die, he just had to pick where, when and how. As the ship leapt into hyperspace, he turned and made his way to the deck that he shared with Arden. His mind wandered as he walked, attempting to come up with a solution to the storm trooper conundrum, thus far, the problem seemed far beyond him. His firsthand experience told him that she would do what she wished, for nothing anyone had said or any consequence had stopped him from falling for… He would not even think her name; it was a near physical pain each and every time, like brands on his deeply scarred heart. The pain had not faded in three years, and he did not expect it to ever fade. Her memory would be with him for as long as his miserable life lasted.

He could not foresee any way that this relationship would end well, if the Emperor discovered her affection, he would take the greatest delight in destroying her heart, and already she had tested his patience with the nature of her bond with him. She was an unforeseen factor he now had to work into his darkly intricate plans. In this fashion, he arrived at her door and entered without knocking.  
"We will arrive at Coruscant in fourteen hours." He felt the corresponding pang of anxiety from Arden as the words left his lips. She appeared from the 'fresher, her wet hair shedding water onto the floor, clad only in a white, fluffy towel.

"I thought you said I would have a month to prepare!" she disappeared again behind a closed bedroom door.

_I was told you would. _Unwilling to shout through closed doors, he unconsciously switched voices.

_Do you know what he is going to ask of me? _Her voice was permeated with nerves that where far easier to hide aloud than from inside the sanctity of her mind.

_I don't know, something hard, just don't talk back. _Vader wished he had something more helpful to tell her.

_Well, what did he ask of you? _Vader felt a punch in his gut that was totally his own feeling.

_He didn't ask anything of me, I had already given him everything._ Changing the subject he said, _whatever you do; do not think of those you care about, if you with them to remain among the living. _Her fear writhed in them both, like a thousand angry snakes, but for him, worse than the fear was the sympathy and the pity for what he had lost. His anger and frustration manifested themselves in clenched fists and a locked jaw. Then she reappeared from her room, the black robes draining all the color from her already bloodless face. Her eyes were wide with an unusual mixture of panic and the empathy he couldn't stand sometimes.

Visibly, she controlled herself, closing her eyes and shutting down emotions in a Jedi-like manner, and he relaxed muscles he hadn't realized that he was clenching. When she opened her blue-gold eyes again, they were bright and fierce. "I will make you proud." She declared, head held high.


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Arden stood by the viewport as the Star Destroyer dropped out of hyperspace. Star light poured in through the transparisteel, casting a pale glow on her already white face. She could feel her stomach rise into her throat, hands twisting nervously together, fingers interlocking. She could die today; she could cease to exist within a couple of hours. It didn't seem fair, she hadn't even got a chance to start her life, and she had hardly begun to explore either the galaxy or even her own abilities in the Force. She didn't want to die. She wanted the joy of stepping onto a new world, feel alien air in her lungs. She wanted to grow into her powers and make something of herself. To be finished her journey before it had even begun…Closing her eyes, she let a shudder run through her body, and did her best to regain her self-control

When her eyes opened once more, Coruscant lay before them. The city planet glittered like a magnificent jewel in the ring of space; the giant circles of architecture lay visible across the surface like the script of some ancient giants. The four moons of the world hung in the void like so many ladies in waiting. The other planets of the system looked pallid, jealous imitations of the glory that she beheld. Arden felt as though she could stare forever at the world, all oranges, reds and golds, the artificial beauty of Coruscant surpassed that of nature's design on many a planet. Other ships were in orbit around the Imperial center, from enormous dreadnaughts like the Star Destroyer, to the smaller corvettes and freighters, most ships in the galaxy made their way here and one time or another. Her observations of her favorite world where cut short as she felt the sublight engines cut out.

The ship glided smoothly into a dock, leaving silence in its wake, a silence that only served to project the sound of her franticly beating heart. Doing her best not to think of those dead, yellow eyes, she flipped her hood over her face in the hopes it would prevent anyone from reading whatever lay there. Her lightsaber were clipped to her belt with slight snaps that sounded deafening in the oppressive quiet. Arden walked out of her room, fingers trailing on a table, memorizing the cool, smooth surface of some black stone that she didn't know. She was afraid to die; it was too final, too absolute. The underside of her bed suddenly seemed to be an attractive place to hide until the Emperor died and his Empire collapsed into ashes. With her acknowledgment of her deepest fear, it lessened slightly, calming her heart beat. She was to be a Sith Lord, one of the most powerful beings in existence, she should never be afraid. Her rage and power were the best shields that anyone could ask for. With that thought, Arden lifted her head and straightened her spine, marching like the Queens of old to meet her destiny.

No one seemed to notice as she strode across the docking bay, her boots clicking satisfactorily on the ground. Several stormtroopers stood to attention and Arden noted in an abstract way that one of them was Nate. She ignored him; the legs of bravery she stood upon were far too shaky for anything, or anyone to distract her. Nate was definitely classified under a distraction. He had only been useful to make her forget about the child, which hardly bothered her now. If anyone could have seen under her hood, they would have been startled by her eyes, the golden ring around her pupils having grown until the blue was nothing but a faint memory around the edges of her iris. Only Vader waited on the shuttle, no troops as back up this time. The pilot was nervous as well. The dark lord was developing as reputation for killing off anyone he found incompetent.

The ship rattled slightly as it entered the atmosphere, and she strode to the view port, practically breathing down the pilot's neck, the fear feeding her strength. Already they were level with the tops of the taller skyscrapers though they were still far above the cloud layer. She smiled; Coruscant always took her breath away. Millions of ships glowed as they speed in super highways, miles beneath them where real streets, people and speeders looking like tiny insects scuttling about their business. Now the building loomed above them, massive windows of transparisteel reflecting their every move. In fact, she was being blinded by the towers, the orange of the sunset bouncing from the windows deflected into her eyes, causing them to water.

Arden ducked her head, looking down, only to pull her head up as the light suddenly cut out. They had entered yet another docking bay, the warm, golden glow of a Coruscanti sunset abruptly cut off by the grey durasteel walls that the Empire loved so well. Arden and Vader turned simultaneously towards the exit, seeming to the pilot that they were but one entity, one mind in two bodies, rendering talk unnecessary. He would never know how right he was. Even within the sanctuary of their own minds they did not talk, the shadow of the Emperor loomed too large over them both. Instead, Arden received a mental sensation rather like a reassuring word and a one-armed hug of solidarity.

The throne room of the Emperor was a magnificent thing, a massive expanse of floor filled with naught but a throne on a raise platform before an enormous circular window. Around the throne, were several raised, small, circular platforms on which red-robed guards stood, faces masked. The back wall, and the window within it, was a welcome diversion from the sea of monochrome, sloping walls that rose on either side of them. That wall was of a light blue, the window was a colorful affair of dark blues and bronze light flooding in from the setting sun. When she dared to look up, she saw that the ceiling stretched far above her head walls fading into an indistinct grey blur before any such roof could be seen. The Emperor's throne was fair plainer than she had expected, just a simple, tall-backed, black chair. But it wasn't the throne that caused her to shudder, but the dark-robbed man sitting in it, his face no more than a pale smudge as they approached the throne down the long, narrow room that, when coupled with the high ceiling had the feeling of a coffin.

The Emperor watched as they drew closer, Arden had expected to feel the waves of power roiling off of him in tidal waves; however, the actual sensation was quite the opposite. He seemed to suck in power, a black hole of the Force, drawing it in and enveloping himself in it like a cloak. Arden felt nauseous as the mutilated face came into focus, the dead eyes seeming to drain all of her bravery and strength in a single glance. Her own power seemed minuscule in comparison to the titan that sat before her. She had thought that moments where she had stood before the holo projection had been, the worst it would get, but it was nothing compared to the reality. She felt cold and empty, drained of all her spirit. Vader knelt a few feet from the base of the stairs, following suit, she felt him monitor his own thoughts and do his best to extricate his mind from hers. Her heart was beating far too quickly again, pulse thundering in her ears so loud, she half expected someone else to hear. Then the Dark Lord of the Sith was speaking, speaking to her alone. "Rise Arden," she stood up, nearly tripping over the hem of her robe, hating the way her name rolled of his tongue, her name rasping like a snake on rocks.

Soulless eyes bored into her soul, her fingers began to twitch, scratching against soft fabric that was suddenly rough as she felt each fiber. Arden felt weak, drained by the void of power that surrounded him, the nimbus that sucked al she was in like a glutton, still seeking more. He didn't speak, reaching into her mind instead, carelessly shoving aside the half-formed walls she had instinctively created. She felt like a nerf being stalked by a Nexu, unsure which way to run, paralyzed by fear. She did her best to regain that sense of power she had felt back in the relative safety of the Star Destroyer. This time Palpatine didn't shred through her soul, he sampled it as though it was nothing more than a collection of delectable morsels. It still burned, but her memories only lingered with crystal clarity in front of her eyes, a bizarre overlay to the real world. He didn't dwell on any one thing, but browsed through all the events that had made her being what it was. She had nowhere to hide, and no choice but to show him her true self, and she loathed him for it. Eventually, her mind was her own, and she felt as though she could finally breathe again. Perhaps the worst was over.

The Emperor remained on his throne; she had half expected him to be standing right in front of her, golden orbs piercing into her soul. His eyes were closed, his attention lingered on her, but still he did not speak. Nervously, she uncurled her tightly clenched fists, feeling hot liquid run down her fingers. Arden looked down surreptitiously to see that her nails had bit so hard into her pals that they had drawn blood. She half turned towards Vader, looking for advice on what to do next when Darth Sidous spoke in a dry voice that crackled with power, "And now you will be tested." Her heart leaped slightly as a dozen troopers appeared, marching down the length of the room, boots thundering on the floor. Vader himself obeyed some mute instruction, moving over to the base of the stairs. The menacing slowness, the storm troopers arranged themselves in a loose circle around her and drew their blasters. _A fairly basic test_, she though, wishing she could make her beating heart believe that.

* * *

Barriss opened her eyes, the harsh yellow lights causing them to water almost instantly. Across from her, Ferus had sat bolt upright and smacked his head on the low roof of the bottom bunk. She stifled a laugh and slid from her bed, careful not to repeat him. She smiled up at Obi-wan whose hand was on the light switch. She felt alive, like she could actually function with some normalcy, Barriss wondered how long she had been out; perhaps she had slept for an eternity after all. Ferus flopped out of bed behind her, rubbing re head and disheveling his hair even more. "How long did we sleep?" she questioned, yawning widely as she did so.

"Oh, about twelve hours, I would have let you sleep longer, but Roan and Seela Ven are ready to come out of the Bacta Tanks." Only twelve hours, it felt as though an eon had passed since the prison break."

"Seela Ven," The name sounded familiar, but her still sleeping brain refused to connect the dots.

"Seel'aven, I just moved the letters around so it's in Basic, I was stationed on Ryloth for a while you know."

"Mmmh," Barriss looked around, nothing the empty bunks all around her, and in fact all the bunks in the narrow room. "Where is everyone?"

"Oh, everyone else got up a while ago; this base doesn't run itself you know." A hot wave of guilt ran through her, she hadn't done much more than anyone else, why did she get to rest while they labored to maintain the illusion of Imperial control. "You deserve it," Obi-wan guessed her mood; "you bought us the time we needed." She gave a huffy sigh, unwilling to let her negative emotions go so easily, but as she walked with Ferus to the medical wing the dissipated. Today, she felt as though she could perhaps put some effort into understanding the Ryl of her new charge.

The medical room was clean and sterile; the brightest spot of color in the white room was the Twi'lek child herself. The dirty purple of her skin had been cleaned to brilliant lavender that almost seemed to glow. As soon as Barriss stepped into the room, the black medical droid rolled up, mechanical voice cracking into life, "The child's leg has been set and she has been given a concentrated nutrient injection to counterbalance her malnutrition. She is free to go, but must return every other day for checkups. She nodded at the droid, but had hardly begun to move before her legs were attacked by Seela's tiny arms. Around her left leg was a slender brace, and now that she was standing, Barriss noticed that she was taller that she had seemed at first, the top of the Twi'lek's head coming up to her waist.

"Do you know how old she is?" Barriss looked up towards the droid.

"She appears to be around seven years of age," The droid moved over to Ferus and a much improved looking Roan whose bright eyes met her own for a second.

Kneeling down, Barriss drew on the Force, applying it towards Seel'aven as she began to talk, the rapid language of Ryl suddenly becoming understandable, even if the meaning of the subtle movements of her lekku still evaded her. It was nearly impossible to understand the movements for any non-Twi'lek. Seela was talking animatedly about night in the medical wing, how the Bacta had felt, what the droid had done, how annoying her leg brace was, and her wondering where in the Galaxy she was exactly. That Barriss could answer, unfortunately she couldn't speak the language, but she did her best to make herself understood.

"This is Bellassa," her hands moved in an expansive gesture, while she emphasized the word, "We are in the Core Worlds." She put more emphasis on the last two words as well, hoping that would help. Where did one even begin to teach a language anyway? Seela's eyes widened as she realized that she was being understood.

"Bell…assa," the word came out slowly in very mangled Basic, followed by, "Core W…orld." Giving her a smile, Barriss reached down and grabbed her little had, leading the girl out of the room.

"We are going to eat." She pantomimed the action with her free hand and Seela nodded, attempting to skip with a brace and failing. Her happiness was overwhelming to Barriss, so strong that it was bleeding into the Force. How could she possibly be so open and trusting after being imprisoned, starved, trampled, and Force knew what else? _Children are wondrous things. _She thought, glad to have rescued just this one. But the warning bells were ringing in her ears. She could not become attached to this child; that was not the way of the Jedi Knights. She had to be free from such things, but the child was her responsibility and she could not just give that up; instead, she had to walk the delicate line between compassion and attachment. A part of her said, _why bother? The Jedi are gone and there is no need to cling to their beliefs, _however, another voice retorted, _I am a Jedi and so is Obi-wan and even Ferus in his own way, so long as we live, the Jedi live. _

Breakfast, or lunch as it actually was, was a simple affair of eggs from an unknown species, some Muja fruit and bread from an equally unknown grain, but it was good at any rate. Seel'aven ate far more than Barriss would have thought possible for a girl of that size, consuming almost as much as Barriss herself. Of course they were woefully outdone by both Ferus and Roan, who seemed to be having an eating contest of sorts, smiling, laughing and talking animatedly, food filling their mouths. She hadn't seen Ferus so happy in all her life. He had definitely unwound since leaving the Jedi Temple, the old Ferus Olin would have never, ever talked with food in his mouth, or laughed so boisterously, personally, she found she liked the change, he was more fun to be around at any rate.

After she had put her plate away, she looked at Seela, wondering how she could possibly teach her Basic. Barriss grabbed her datapad and quickly sketched out the letters of the Basic alphabet. She handed the pad to Seela and said the sounds of each letter, gesturing to the corresponding mark as she said them. Seela looked up saying "Alphabet?" in Ryl, nodding, Barriss elaborated.

"Basic Alphabet," Seela repeated the word in Basic and Ryl.

"Same word?" She inquired, brow furled in concentration. She broke into a grin when Barriss nodded enthusiastically. Her look of intense focus returned when Barriss gently took hold of one of Seel'aven's fingers and traced the first letter, Aurek. After the first letter, Seela pulled her hand from Barriss's and continued the exercise on her own. She was a very clever kid Barriss observed, feeling an undue sense of pride in the child, which she repressed almost instantly, looking around the table to distract herself.

There were only five of them at the table now, the eating contest between Ferus and Roan seemed to be finished, and most of their joviality with it, they had evidently begun to talk of prison and torture, with Roan doing much of the talking in his deep and pleasant voice, grey-green eyes shadowed with the horrors of his recent past. With Seela both distracted and unable to understand, Barriss wanted to begin to discuss plans to kill Darth Vader. She must have looked nervous because Obi-wan looked up and inquired, "Are you alright?" She knew she had to tell him her pan at some point, but she was afraid of him trying to stop her. If he did try, she might even stop, such was her respect for him, but she knew that what she was doing was both necessary and right. Besides, what else did she have to live for? If she was being perfectly honest with herself, she wanted his support, his encouragement and his help. He was the pinnacle of what a Jedi should be. To have him tell her to abandon this mission would crush her, but she would obey, as she always had.

Gathering up her courage, she spoke, "I want to kill Darth Vader." They were just six words, six plain words, but they wiped all the hope and joy from his eyes. Barriss flinched as she watched his face go blank for a moment, pain written there for the entire world to see. _What does he know? _She wondered, half wishing she hadn't said anything at all.

"Why?" he eventually asked as the silence dragged on, Ferus and Roan had broken from their conversation, and Seela had looked up, confusion plastered on her face.

"Because he is the reason everyone I know is dead, because he is evil, because the Force needs to be brought back into balance if any of us are to survive." It wasn't very eloquent she knew, but she didn't want to burst into tears again. She had hardly ever cried before Order 66, she had had perfect control over her emotions, but that perfection seemed to be slipping and she hated herself for that. Jedi did not cry, Jedi were masters of themselves above all else. Obi-wan nodded, his eyes still focused on something not there. Slowly his attention returned to the now and he met her gaze with clear blue eyes.

"Those are all valid reasons," Obi-wan's voice was quite, barely more than a whisper, but his words gained strength as he continued, "I too want to kill the Sith , but I have another task and I cannot help you. In fact, I must take my leave as soon as possible." Barriss sat in shock, trying to take it in. Was her hero running from a fight? She sensed a reluctance to take on Vader in him, but it was more than that, much more, but she could not divine the nature of it. Mental powers were not her strong point.

"So you won't help us?" she said finally, bitter disappointment filling her.

"I'm sorry Barriss, but I have to protect our hope in case you fail. I must go book a ship off this world. He got up and left, leaving a dismayed silence in his wake.


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

"So, what now?" Obi-wan's departure had left something of a vacuum at the table, only now, after what felt like an eternity of awkward silence did Ferus speak. He looked over at Barriss with expectant eyes, obviously waiting for her to come up with another stellar plan.

"I…I don't know what to do," She had been counting on Obi-wan's strength and wisdom as a Jedi Master to help them, but he clearing wasn't going to help them, not with the mysterious safeguard he had to protect. Wheels were turning uselessly in her head, churning out random gibberish instead of a cohesive and effective plan. Seela had glanced up from her study of the Basic alphabet, the tension in the air catching her attention. Barriss stroked her lekku gently; exquisitely aware of how delicate they were while she continued to muse. When the answer finally came to her, she was cautious, it could very easily backfire on them, but it was the most logical thing she could think of. "Well, we couldn't have been the only Jedi to survive, so we need to go find someone to assist us." She spoke slowly, unsure of the words that slipped from her tongue. If they massed together, Vader might find them before they were ready.

"Where would we even begin to look?" Ferus was extremely skeptical to say the least, it was written plainly across his face and mind. "The galaxy is a big place you know." She stared at him, internally rebuking him for his scathing and small minded comments before dismissing his words as relevant. She thought furiously all the while, the problem was an honest one, there were just so many planets, the inhabited ones alone numbered in the millions, billions more were uninhabited, the perfect place for a Jedi in hiding, and then only about a quarter of the galaxy had been surveyed properly, so who knew how many other planets out in Wild Space could harbor a Jedi knight or two? It would take many, many lifetimes to scour those planets. No, the most logical option would be to look on a metropolis world, one were billions of people coexisted and individuals were lost in the urban jungle.

"Coruscant," she said finally and definitively, "We are going to go to the underworld of Coruscant." Absolutely blank stares met her firm gaze.

"Coruscant," Roan said, speaking as if to an especially stupid child, "The capital of the Empire, and the actual home of both Darth Vader AND the Emperor. You want to go to that Coruscant."

"Yes," She was becoming more certain of herself by the minute, "I mean it, I am going to find Jedi to assist us there, whether you come with me or not." This determination could only be the will of the Force, it was so strong. She had forgotten that the Force was darker now. "So are you going to join me or not?" she was already wondering just how soon she could book a place or three on a ship. She still had money left from working in that tapcaf on Mirial, and Coruscant wasn't too far from Bellassa after all.

"We need to talk about it," Ferus and Roan had been talking while she thought, breaking apart their quiet discussion to answer together, nearly in sync and were already back in a huddle. She felt slightly bemused that she wasn't to be included in their plotting, and that she was no longer the best friend of Ferus, if she had ever been that at all. Barriss got up, half formed ideas of going to train in one of the many empty rooms in the base, or to see if she could help with anything. A green-skinned Twi'lek flounced suddenly into view, causing Seel'aven, who had been continuing to work on the letter, to jump to her feet, datapad clutched tightly in her fingers

"Lady Offee," He called out as soon as he noticed that he had caught her eyes.

"It's simply Barriss," she returned in a weary tone, "I'm no lady; what had happened."

"The men, the Imperial men, the ones in the control room," She sensed that he was tense, worried, but also unsure. It was as though something he did not understand had gone wrong and he hoped not to be blamed for it. Together, they walked back down the several long corridors to the communications center, where her three mentally mutilated men labored, ate and slept/ Behind her, she could hear short, rapid breaths and slowed her pace for the short-legged child who clung to her like a shadow. As soon as Seela had caught up and had breath to spare, she began to jabber to the Twi'lek man beside her; both of them talking in the smooth subtle and fast-paced language of their homeworld. She was about to let slip her ability to understand, she disliked the idea of eavesdropping when she heard her own name, slightly mangled by Seela, enter the conversation, her little friend was praising her kindness and helpfulness so earnestly that her face broke into an unwilling smile of delight.

The communications center was brightly light, but it contrast, it was utterly freezing, some spiteful soul in the control room had turned the air conditioning on completely. Her men were sitting on floor, rocking back and forth with their faced buried deep into their knees. Concerned, she knelt on the icy duracrete floor as well, completing the diamond of people. Despite that they were Imperials, she felt responsible for them. They were hers to look after, as she had made them prisoner, and they were still people and no matter what happened, she couldn't lose sight of that fact. Barriss drew on the Force, harnessing the never-ending flow and redirecting it through her. Carefully, she examined the first man's mind. She had been happy with the job that she had done, but upon closer inspection, she had been horrifyingly blunt.

His mind was nearly ruined; her basic and simple trick had gone sickeningly wrong. It seemed that she had unconsciously drawn on the kinetic use of the Force instead of the pure mentality that she had wanted and had thought she had used. Most of his neurons had been ground into a grey pulp, incapacitating him, and leaving him with only the ability to answer incoming transmissions as if all was well. He could not recall any of his past life, save for the access codes and phrases directly related to communication in the Empire. He had no knowledge of how to talk or do basic math; he didn't even know his own name or the planet his was on. The only other thing that he yet knew was how to perform basic bodily functions and keep himself alive. Her 'mind trick' had destroyed everything that he had been and what he could have been. Now, his unstable brain was collapsing, his neurons were falling apart and he was dying an agonizing death in panic and confusion as the little he knew slipped from his mind. She didn't have to even look at the other men to understand that the same thing was happening to them, and she knew that there was nothing anyone could do.

"Their dying," she said aloud as she got up, brushing the invisible specs of dirt from a clean dress. She felt filthy and unclean, as though her actions had rendered her unworthy to continue to serve as a Jedi Knight after she had done such a heinous thing to three nearly innocent people. _The kindest thing to do is to kill them. _Barriss thought as she laid a cool palm against the burning forehead of the first man. She found his heart with the Force and stopped it, cutting out all the electrical activity with appalling ease. Before she could continue, a rough emerald hand gripped her arm.

"We need them alive," he was deadly serious, though fear danced in and out of his eyes and his mind.

"They will not last another night, there isn't anything that anyone can do," She pulled free and quickly killed the next one before he could respond, feeling the loss of his life like a small punch to her gut.

"Lady Offee, they're the only ones who know the access codes!" She spun around and looked him in the eye.

"What do you mean, only they know the access codes?" Behind her, the last remaining Imperial gave a soft moan of pain and thudded to the ground.

"We…we couldn't get the codes from them, we...we didn't think," the Twi'lek stammered, panic flowering fully in his brain, skin blushing a shade darker.

"It's okay; we will work out a plan." Barriss returned her attention to the last man, biting her lip with nervousness. She delved into his mind, only to find his mind empty as he slipped silently into death. She rose without a word, mind spinning through the possibilities and consequences of her actions. She left the communications center, Seela still trailing behind her, she had refused shoes, so her bare feet smacked distinctively into the tiled floor. Ferus and Roan were still talking together in the cafeteria when Barriss strode in. The room was mostly empty, the lunch time rush being over, so it suited her purposes very well. Sitting down beside Ferus she spoke in an undertone. "We have a problem." They broke of their conversation, both peering intently at her; it was slightly unnerving for some reason. "The Imperial communications men are dead; the access codes are gone with them." Ferus passed a hand over his face, distress and worry emanating off of them.

"We need to get everyone evacuated, now." He sprang into action, Roan seemed about to follow, but she grabbed their arms, pulling them both back to reality.

"We need a plan first! Who is it that we are going to evacuate? Are we going to evacuate the base? What about the city? Or are you intending to move everyone off the world? Nearly the entire planet is aware of what we have done her, so do you not think that the Empire will not punish them to?" Her sharp words deflated him like a punctured balloon; he slumped back to the table, a defeated look on his face. Roan looked consternated, plainly he was thinking hard. Determined to wipe the self-depreciating look off of his face, she tried to come up with something, but it was Roan who spoke first Perhaps of the three of them it was up to him, he was the only native among them after all

"We'll tell everyone in the base that there is probably going to be an Imp attack and they can decide for themselves what they're going to do. Together, we'll get everyone to spread the word until everyone knows what is going to happen. But we'll have to move fast, Coruscant isn't that far away."

"Okay," Ferus spike softly as he gathered his strength and prepared himself for the inevitable. "You and I at least should leave the planet, Roan too. We'll come to Coruscant with you."

* * *

With a snap and a hiss she ignited her lightsabers, the red blades striking grooves into the floor. For several long moments she stood frozen, but it was not so within her mind. Arden probed and inspected the minds of the twelve stormtroopers arrayed in a circle around her. These were hard me, they would not deviate from their task, to kill her or die trying. She suddenly sprung from her place, muscles moved instinctively to pull up her sabers into the deflecting positing in the instant before they fired baster bolts hit her. Crimson me crimson in a crackling burst of plasma. The bolts scattered in random directions, scoring the walls instead of the gleaming white armor of the men who were trying to kill her. With that, her immobility was shattered and she sprang into action, finding new depths to her rage as she fought for her life.

Arden leapt high into the air, lightsabers extended down as she landed on top of and impaled a trooper, using the falling corpse to slow her own decent to the ground while she braced herself to be ready. They were nervous now; she was a better warrior than they had expected, typical males, thinking that a woman couldn't do anything as well as a man. Well she would prove them wrong. She landed gently on the floor, moving swiftly to intercept yet more bolts heading her way. This time, two of them found their way into the helmets of troopers that collapsed to the ground, but still nine remained. Time seemed to slow as she opened herself completely to the will of the Force, the movements of the clone troopers appeared jerky and hesitant. She took advantage of the time she had gained to enter an arena where she held sway. Her eyes closed and she reached out the tendrils of her mind, ensnaring the souls of her would-be murderers.

Their minds were weak, defenseless and she dug into them, drawing out the horrors they had witnessed, crushing their free will and turning them into her very own living puppets. As soon as she had enough control she made them shoot each other. Soon enough, only one remained; she drew on the Force again and pushed his mind into a new direction, he collapsed to the ground, screaming and writhing. He saw something not apparent to the other two Sith in the room. Arden however saw a nightmarish creature, she saw what he saw, for she had triggered that which he had most feared and made it real before his eyes. It tore into him, ripping his skin and he wailed all sense of military decorum gone, chased away by the horrific illusion before him. She thought it might be a rancor of some sort, but no rancor had teeth that big or skin as black as the Maw. Perhaps one day her illusions would be enough to kill, but for now, she still had to do that herself. She stabbed him through the head and the screams gurgled out.

Somewhat proud of herself, she looked up from amidst the bodies and stared at the Emperor, her chin tilted up. She was still afraid of him, but it was less now. Now she had shown exactly what she was capable of, now she was valuable, she hoped. But she didn't show her fear, she stood stock still, waiting. When it became clear that Darth Sidous wasn't going to say anything, she slowly looked around the room. Obviously there was more to come; she hadn't passed the test yet. Her lightsabers ignited, growing to their full length, and she waited.

Her nerves were proved correct when a crowed of twenty or so civilians were roughly shoved into the room and herded towards her. Arden felt her heart twist and her throat closed, but she willed those sentimental feelings away. They were a motley group, all aliens, from a gentle Ithorian to a defeated-looking Wookiee, a Rodian woman walked forward on shaky legs and the blue skin of a Twi'lek was nearly white with fear. A Falleen man was turning orange in an attempt to influence those around him with pheromones, but it didn't seem to be working. All clutched blasters in trembling fingers, some looked backwards, but they were prevented from running by a long line of troopers, their basters aimed and ready. The prisoners walked towards their doom, and as they drew close enough to see her clearly, she saw all the light drain from their eyes as they took in the scene. An angry girl, all in black with crackling red lightsabers and a mound of bloody corpses, they knew now, how they were going to die.

Yet she still couldn't see that she was the monster in this situation, the real monster sat behind her, she could still feel his stair, like ice condensed where his eyes fell. He was the one that they should fear, not her. If she didn't kill them, he would kill them all and then she would die as well. Wasn't it best for at least one of them to survive? Arden did her best not to wonder, not to look and see who they were and where they had come from. Did they have loved ones who would never see them again? Their mental walls were no barrier to her; she could look and see all that they were, but it would only cause her yet more pain, adding scars to an already blistered heart. Regret for their deaths threatened to distract her, they were just people who shouldn't have to die for a madman's whim. But she pushed her feelings of sympathy away, they would only get her killed, anger was her ally now, and she had plenty.

They had reached her at last; she swung her lightsabers into the ready position and ignored the tears that rolled silently down their faces. They fired the old blasters that they held, the shots going wide. There was no reason for her to kill them; they didn't present a threat to anyone, least of all her, but she deflected the bolts and watched as several of them punched through unprotected skin. The Wookiee had gathered up his courage and charged her, growling as he ran. The growl was cut short as she hopped into the air and neatly severed his head; the enormous body collapsing like a marionette whose strings were cut. The rest of the rabble was shocked into action, clustering together as if to avoid her wrath. There were too many of them for a mental attack to do any good, but she eliminated them easily anyway. Her lightsabers severed heads and limbs with nauseating ease, eventually they were dead and the tears were pricking her eyes despite her furious rage. They hadn't been soldiers, they hadn't hurt anyone, but she had killed them all the same.

Arden faced the Emperor, the bodies pilled around her and not a mark on her. She felt dwarfed by the enormity of the death that she had caused. But if this was to be her life, she supposed that she could make herself get used to it. Still, he didn't speak, watching her instead, still waiting. Her frayed temper snapped, "What more do you want from me!?" her voice sounded weak in the massive space of the throne room. When there was no response, she turned to Vader, reaching out with her mind, trying to understand. But he continued to cut her out, only vague feelings of worry, regret and frustration bleeding through. Irritated, she spun around, searching for some clue as to her next and hopefully final task

The door opened, and for several along seconds, her brain refused to comprehend what her eyes saw. When the figures approached close enough to see, she froze, heart beating painfully in her chest. The storm troopers were forcibly shoving forward several dozen children. Again, they were all aliens and they were all terrified. However, the children didn't get blasters, she was expected to massacre them, to cut them down and end their lives before they had even really begun. Only this morning, she had feared for her own life, and now she was placing the same fear in others. Some of the children were so small and young. One of them, a Sullustian wouldn't have come up to her knees. Every fiber of her body wanted to rebel, to stop the madness and say she wouldn't do it. She did her best to control her chaotic emotions, pushing the unwanted ones far from the light of day. She was a Sith, she feared nothing and no one could stand in her way.

The children were so scared that they were shaking, their whole bodies trembling. Unlike the adults who had come before, there was little comprehension in their eyes. They had no idea about what was to happen, no inkling that their lives were about to come to an end. It was far worse than the knowledge in the eyes of the elders. All they knew was that they had been taken from their homes and families and that they had no idea what was going on. Her lightsabers felt suddenly heavy, unwieldy and she had the urge to drop them and all that they signified. But that was not her path, it was not her destiny and death was not her fate. She would not run from duty, she would not hide from what she was about to become. If she did what was required of her, she could stand to gain everything that she had ever wanted, everything she could ever need.

Arden closed her eyes, _and now I kill my soul. _Her anger and her pain began to bubble and swell within, brushing away her doubts and burning her clean of regret. The children had begun to step around the bodies, and she opened her golden eyes, ignoring the dread on their faces. Upon recognizing the bodies all around her, they began to scream, dropping to their knees to clutch the bodies of their dead parents. No tears burned her eyes as they took in the scene; no guilt filled her heart with acid. She began to move, slicing down the children who remained standing. Their pain bled through, weakening her for a moment, before she blocked it out, treating them as nothing more than so many targets. She then stalked through the corpses, searching out the rest of the children who hid among the fallen. Her façade of anger strengthened, they could not hide from her.

The Wookiee child was not screaming, gone too far beyond grief, head resting on the body chest of his father. She impaled him through the back, going all the way through the decapitated adult. She sliced the lekku from a Twi'lek, watching with a detached air as the child fell to the ground, paralyzed and bleeding out. Suddenly, a blaster bolt hit her in the leg and she let out a yell of surprise, whipping around to see that the Sullustian and the Rodian had found the guns, and were shooting despite the fact that the guns were too heavy for them and had to be propped up on a dead trooper There shots were wild, only luck had caused the one to hit her. She choked them both to death, forcing herself to be infinitely aware of her surroundings. She prowled towards the Ithorian child, whom she made kill himself. Quite suddenly, she realized that there was no one left alive. She ignored the pain in her leg, the bolt had only grazed her and she refused to limp, pushing aside corpses with the Force. She pushed a Shistavanan child from her way, blood draining from the corner of the wolf-girl's mouth.

Arden stood before the Emperor, all rage and pain and darkness. Blood stained the bottom of her cape and robes, dipping down her left leg where a cauterized artery and broken open. She clipped her lightsabers back to her belt and waited. Surely there would be no more tasks, no more death for her to reap today. For there was a grave yard behind her, a mass of aliens and stormtroopers, white armor stained with multi-hued blood, and at long last, the Emperor finally spoke.

"Well done, Darth…Eclipse."


End file.
